A woman who was hit by her ex-boyfriend in a horrific hit-and-run has revealed she had filed for a restraining order against him just months earlier.
Grace Morrison, 20, was dragged several metres along a road near Geraldton, Western Australia, on 18 December 2022.
Her ex-partner, Brady Dermott Collins, 27, was sentenced to two years in jail during sentencing in Geraldton District Court on Thursday.
Ms Morrison has since spoken out about the horrific experience, revealing she had attempted to obtain a restraining order against him months earlier but was refused.
“I was applying for the restraining order because Brady and I had broken up, and it was total harassment,” she told the BBC. Western Australia.
“I couldn’t escape from him. Besides, he had the keys to my house.”
Ms Morrison, who was in an on-off relationship with Collins at the time, met him at a local pub hours before the hit-and-run occurred.
The couple traveled to another address where an argument broke out between them.
Grace Morrison’s former partner Brady Dermott Collins, 27 (pictured), was jailed for two years during sentencing in Geraldton District Court last Thursday.
Ms Morrison then went to another home in Utakarra before Collins followed her in his Holden Colorado.
He lured the 18-year-old out of the house by honking his horn repeatedly and hanging her purse out of her window.
Ms Morrison reached for the bag before Collins shoved it back inside with his arm still holding it.
He accelerated as Mrs Morrison tried to grab the luggage rack with her free arm.
She fell face downwards and was dragged across the road before the car ran over the left side of her body.
“I remember picking my head up off the ground, spitting out my teeth and looking at him, and he was right across the street, pointing at me, screaming, still under the street light, and then he took off again,” Morrison said.
Ms Morrison was left with a fractured jaw, a broken shoulder blade and two cracked ribs.
Locals rushed to her aid before she was taken to Royal Perth Hospital.
Western Australian police arrested Collins hours later.
Collins pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and failing to stop and render assistance.
Ms Morrison expressed relief at the jail sentence imposed on her former partner.
Collins accelerated as Ms Morrison tried to grab the luggage rack with her free arm.
“I am very happy with the result. I feel that justice has been done,” she said.
“I got rid of it one way or another. Because, to be honest, if it hadn’t been so serious or if it hadn’t happened that night, he’d probably still be in my life.”
After undergoing surgery, Ms Morrison is still recovering and relies heavily on her loved ones to help her with everyday tasks.
He can no longer drive a manual car after also suffering a serious injury to his left leg.
Ms Morrison revealed she still feels gripped by anxiety despite having moved on with her life nearly two years after the toxic relationship ended.
She urged other women going through difficult relationships to heed the advice of friends and family if their loved ones notice something is wrong.
Collins will be eligible for parole in 2026.
