The family of the sole survivor of a horror motorway tunnel crash have opened up about the marathon recovery their daughter faced just in the prime of her life and their move interstate to be by her side.
Emma McLean, 23, was driving a silver Mazda sedan through Brisbane’s Legacy Way tunnel at 3.10pm on May 1 to attend a wedding when a former police officer driving an open-top Audi rear-ended her car at 200 km. km/h.
The sedan then collided with a truck, causing a horrific multi-vehicle crash near the entrance to the main road.
Ms McLean suffered broken arms, a shattered pelvis and a severe traumatic brain injury, and was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition.
Her best friend and nurse at Flinders Private Hospital in South Australia, Lily Galbraith, 24, was a passenger in Ms McLean’s car and died in the crash.
Emma McLean, 23, suffered broken arms, a shattered pelvis and a traumatic brain injury after a horror multi-vehicle crash in Brisbane’s Legacy Way tunnel.
Ms McLean’s passenger and best friend, Lily Galbraith, died in the crash.
Former police officer Bruce Daley, 56, who was driving the black Audi, also died, while the truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Ms McLean’s parents, Lisa and Peter, have shared details about their daughter’s slow recovery and how they moved to Brisbane to be by their daughter’s side.
The family is in the process of packing up their homes in Sydney and Adelaide to permanently move to Brisbane.
However, due to Brisbane’s historically tight rental market, they are struggling to find a property close to the hospital that can also meet their daughter’s needs.
‘Our world just stopped. I was in a staff meeting. “I literally got up, walked out and haven’t come back,” Mrs McLean said. courier mail.
“It’s crazy that we can go on with our lives and all of a sudden everything changes and we have to improve our lives.”
Ms McLean spent 12 days in an induced coma and suffered serious injuries, including needing to have her spleen removed.
The couple was on their way to a wedding when their silver sedan (left) crashed into a truck after being hit from behind by an open-top Audi traveling at 200 km/h. Also killed was former police officer Bruce Daley, 56, who was driving the Audi (right).
The 23-year-old has to relearn how to walk, eat, swallow, hold a pencil and write after suffering a serious brain injury. Unfortunately, she still doesn’t remember her loved ones either.
“He has a significant traumatic brain injury. His body may heal, his bones may be immobilized. But with his head, we just don’t know,” Mrs. McLean said.
‘They really can’t give us answers. That’s the most difficult thing, no one can give us adequate answers. It’s just heartbreaking. He was in the prime of his life.
McLean said the accident crushed her “hearts into a million pieces” as she believes her daughter recognizes them but doesn’t remember them.
Just three weeks before the accident, McLean’s longtime boyfriend, Harry Perez, proposed to her and the couple had already begun planning their wedding.
Perez also moved to Brisbane to be with family and her fiancé during her long road to recovery.
Ms. McLean had one more year of university studies left to complete her degree in marketing and communications.
Her parents said she loved her job in Adelaide, which was also where her best friend Mrs Galbraith lived.
She doesn’t know that her best friend has died.
The pair had been best friends since they met at Darwin school in Year 7 and were inseparable, often celebrating life’s big milestones together, including birthdays, formal events and graduations.
McLean and Galbraith were traveling from Adelaide to Brisbane and were heading to a high school friend’s wedding when the car they were in was hit.
Her parents hope that next week their daughter will be transferred to the Hospital’s Surgery, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service where she can begin her rehabilitation.
Doctors have said McLean could be in and out of the hospital for the next two or three years.
Ms McLean’s parents, Lisa and Peter, moved to Brisbane to be by their daughter’s side during her long road to recovery (pictured Emma, left to right, with her parents and sister Sophie).
Mrs McLean (right) and Mrs Galbraith (left) met in Year 7 and have been best friends ever since.
Just three weeks before the terrible accident, McLean’s longtime boyfriend, Harry Perez, proposed to her and the couple had already begun planning their wedding.
Ms McLean’s boss at ScreenAway Australia, Dan O’Rourke, started a GoFundMe to help raise money for his recovery, family and any future medical expenses.
“Our ScreenAway Australia team is shocked and saddened by the horrific car accident involving one of our team members, Emma McLean,” Mr O’Rourke wrote.
‘Emma is a bright, happy and beautiful young woman who enjoys nothing more than the simple things in life like camping, going to the beach and rowing.
‘Emma’s smile lights up the room and she makes friends with everyone who crosses her path; She loves nothing more than creating memories with her closest loved ones.
“She is a valued member of our team and we would appreciate your help and support for Emma in her time of need.”
As of this writing, GoFundMe has received 555 donations totaling $41,791 and has a goal of raising $50,000.