The daughter of a Dapto couple whose car and caravan flipped on the Hume Highway last week has thanked the motorists and emergency service personnel who came to their aid and has issued a public appeal to track them down.
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Kaylene and Malcolm Booth, from Dapto, were on their way to Yass for a working holiday when a gust of wind sent them crashing onto the median strip.
Mrs Booth, 61, was behind the wheel when the car and caravan came unstuck on the highway near Sutton Forest about 1.10pm on October 30.
She was trapped in the vehicle for more than an hour, before being released and taken to Liverpool Hospital suffering abdominal injuries.
Mr Booth, 64, was uninjured and told Fairfax Media they were “lucky to be alive”.
“I don’t know how we survived,” he said at the scene.
Mrs Booth was released from hospital on Saturday.
The Booth’s daughter Chantelle Corbett, 34, told the Mercury her family was “incredibly grateful” for the assistance of motorists who stopped after the accident.
”Nobody had to stop, but so many people did,” Mrs Corbett, also from Dapto, said.
“There was one man who gave my dad at least three or four litres of water, just to keep him hydrated.”
One of the first people to arrive on the scene was an off-duty fireman who, Mrs Corbett said, stayed with the couple the whole time.
“He knew exactly what to do, so if it wasn’t for him I don’t know where my mum would be, because she did go into shock,” she said.
Mrs Corbett would like to find the fireman and the person who held her mum's head in the car ‘’so we as a family can thank them personally”.
“They didn't mention their names to either Mum or Dad,” she said.
Mrs Corbett told how she jumped in the car after receiving a call from her dad about the accident.
“I saw the caravan at the scene and I just looked at it and went ‘no way’,” she said.
“He’s had that caravan for two months. It was the second trip away. [It was] his pride and joy.”
Mrs Corbett said her parents were experienced caravaners who had been towing vans “since I’ve been alive”.
“I’ve watched the dashcam footage of it and you can just slowly see the car moving from side to side, then it goes right over to the left-hand side and then mum straightens it up,” she said.
“My dad’s yelling ‘you’re gonna lose it’ ... then a second later, nup, we’ve lost it.”
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
