Man saved in road trap

An RACQ LifeFlight helicopter met the Proston ambulance in the Coe's front yard. Pictures: Francis Coe

Property owners and a passer-by assisted paramedics and police in saving a man who had been trapped in a rolled vehicle.

Queensland Police revealed they are investigating a major single vehicle crash involving a Toyota LandCruiser at Boondooma around 10am on Thursday 27 January.

Police and emergency services responded, and a 45-year-old Bundaberg man was flown to hospital for treatment.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have dashcam vision to come forward. The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

Boondooma property owners Francis and Margaret Coe heard loud noises from the road and a cloud of dust.

They reported a car travelling south had left the road near their property’s entrance, hit the culvert drain and apparently rolled end over end through and over the fence to come to rest against a bottle tree. A single occupant, 45-year-old male from Bundaberg was trapped in the wreck obviously seriously injured.

Subsequently, the Proston ambulance who responded incredibly quickly were able to attend until the RACQ LifeFlight helicopter arrived and landed in the front of the Coe’s property.

The driver was subsequently airlifted to Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Coes’ had been told by the Proston Police that the medical team had managed to reattach the man’s hand.

Francis and Margaret Coe were the only residents home at the time of the crash, both in their 80s.

Adam Locke of Gayndah, a driver passing by, stopped to offer assistance.

Adam was agile enough to crawl into the wreck enough to restrain the bleeding from a severed arm.

Ambulance officers told Francis, that Adam’s efforts had clearly saved the man’s life.

Margaret later found the severed hand more than 20 metres back from the car and put it on ice in an Esky and into the chopper as recommended by the paramedics.

The medical team were in turn complimentary to Margaret for her concise and accurate directions on location and landing area which aided the RACQ Lifeflight helicopter’s attendance.

Francis thanked the team from the Proston Ambulance Station for their incredibly quick, efficient response.

Assisting with the major crash enforced the importance of being safe on the roads to Francis.

“I always ensure the seat belt is on and that has been strongly reinforced by what I saw yesterday. A clear lifesaver,” he said.