Crash victim badly hurt

A DRIVER paid to take people home safely who have been drinking is in an induced coma after being jammed between two cars in a serious crash.

Shalene Fitzsimmons, 55, was working for Dial a Driver Townsville when about midnight on Saturday she was rear ended and slammed into another car in front of her.

The car in front was being driven by her colleague who was driving a client home in their own car. Mrs Fitzsimmons was following behind to give her colleague a lift.

She was taken to Townsville Hospital’s intensive care unit with serious chest injuries in a critical condition and has been placed in an induced coma.

Police said the two cars were waiting to turn on the Ring Rd at Hervey Range Rd when a man in his 20s rear ended Mrs Fitzsimmons car at speed causing her to hit the car in front.

Dial a Driver owners Donald and Christine Crowden said they spent yesterday by Mrs Fitzsimmons’s husband’s side waiting to see her.

“He’s completely shut down, he’s just waiting and hoping but they’ve been married for so long it’s so sad,” Mrs Crowden said.

“She’s so bruised they can’t even see the extent of the chest injuries.”

Mr Crowden said he was in disbelief that a person “working to keep the roads safe for drivers” had ended up in this position.

“To ram that car so horrifically and to hit our car simply stopped at the lights,” Mr Crowden said.

“It could’ve been six people dead that night, he busted the fuel tank on the car that’s how hard it was.

“We’re trying to make the roads safer for other people.”

Mrs Crowden said Mrs Fitzsimmons had been working for the company for seven years and this incident could not have happened to more “undeserving”.

“She is such a loving soul, she splits her life into so many sections to help her elderly mum who she cares for and then drives for us on the weekend. She even has a disabled child that she cares for,” Mrs Crowden said. “A lot of our clients even request for her to drive her home because of how wonderful she is.”

District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Joe Matheson said the Forensic Crash Unit was someone investigating whether speed and alcohol were a factor in the crash.

“We have to wait for the results of a blood test before we can speculate,” Snr-sgt Matheson said.

Townsville Hospital confirmed Mrs Fitzsimmons remained in a critical but stable condition.

The 24-year-old male driver, who was taken to hospital in a stable condition with neck and chest injuries, has since been discharged.