PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE
It was a beautiful day trackside but it ended with Claire Tucker’s family ...
SERIOUSLY-INJURED mother-of-one Claire Tucker is fighting for her life in Cairns Hospital’s intensive care unit as her family and friends pray for a miracle.
The 36-year-old Redlynch beautician was found seriously injured at the bottom of a pedestrian bridge at Earlville on the weekend.
Her mother Lesley Hill-Allen said her daughter would not give up.
“There’s still a chance she could pull through – she’s a huge fighter,” she said.
Police are appealing for help.
THE family of a young mother found seriously injured at the bottom of a pedestrian bridge at the weekend is praying for a miracle that she survives the fall.
Cairns woman Claire Tucker, 36, was fighting for her life in the intensive care unit at Cairns Hospital yesterday after she was found in a drain outside the Stockland shopping centre at Earlville on Saturday at 9pm.
Police said it appeared Ms Tucker, who had spent the day at the Cairns Cup with friends, had fallen off the pedestrian bridge over Clarkes Creek while trying to walk from the racecourse to town along the Bruce Highway and Mulgrave Rd.
The bubbly Redlynch beautician, who has a five-year son, appeared to have fallen 2m into the concrete drain and suffered serious head injuries. She was found by a passer-by who immediately alerted emergency services.
Her mother Lesley HillAllen said her daughter, who has lived in Cairns for 33 years, had been having a great day at the races with her partner and friends, but then became separated from them when the event finished.
“You can imagine what the races are like there, with a huge number of people, with everyone trying to get taxis and things,” she said.
“I think she and everyone got separated and tried to walk towards town to try and get a taxi at Earlville.”
She said her very active daughter – who plays netball and touch football – had received “non-stop” visitors at the hospital, including people who had travelled from as far south as Sydney to help pray for a full recovery.
“There’s still a chance she could pull through – she’s a huge fighter,” Ms Hill-Allen said.
Police are still appealing for anyone, who may have been driving or walking past the shopping centre on Saturday between 7pm and 9pm, to come forward with information about Ms Tucker to piece together her movements.
Cairns police Senior Constable Russ Parker said she had been spotted walking along Mulgrave Rd about 7.15pm, before she came into strife.
“It’s about 2m from the top of the railing (over the pedestrian bridge) down to the culvert,” he said.
“We believe she’s fallen from that distance, and obviously a fall from that distance onto hard concrete is something that’s going to create serious injuries and certainly has in this case.”