A Westbury mother has described the drive from her home to the Launceston General Hospital on Friday night as one of the longest of her life.
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Kate Rydberg’s son, Brodie Laing, was involved in three-vehicle crash on Friday night.
The 19-year-old was driving on York Street in Launceston, when a four-wheel-drive allegedly ran a red light at the Bathurst Street intersection, Tasmania Police said.
A 20-year-old Lilydale man has been charged with a traffic offence.
A 19-year-old woman who was driving the third car was also hit, but was physically uninjured, police said.
Tasmania Police Acting Sergeant Steve Greenwood said Mr Laing was very lucky to survive.
“I’d say there were only inches in the 19-year-old still being with us today. He is a very lucky lad,” Acting Sergeant Greenwood said.
As a result of the crash, he has a form of amnesia, a severe concussion, a fractured cheek bone, heavy bruising and a possibly fractured knee and shoulder.
“The police on the scene did say to us that when they got there they thought it would be a dead body in the car,” Ms Rydberg said.
“[Friday] night when he was half conscious he just kept asking over and over and over ‘was it my fault?’, ‘was everyone okay?’ and that went on for about four hours repeatedly.”
The P-plater has had his licence for about three months, but Ms Rydberg said she is unsure if her son will ever want to get behind the wheel of a car again.
“If there was anyone else in the car they would not have survived. The car looks horrific. We could be sitting here today with him in the morgue. It’s heartbreaking.”
She reminded other drivers not to run red lights.
“Just bloody be careful on the road and wake up to yourself,” she said.
“I do want to thank Leigh and the guy who rang me. We don’t even know how he got my phone number and we think his name was Jordan. We want to say a huge thank you to them for being there with Brodie.
“We’re just very grateful that he’s here with us today.”
Acting Sergeant Greenwood said speed, alcohol or drugs were not a factor in the crash.
“It was just a simple crash,” he said.
Drivers go through red lights on a daily basis and this crash was preventable, Acting Sergeant Greenwood said. The crash occurred about 9pm on Friday.
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