They’re going to kill somebody: crash survivor
IN a split second, a Townsville father was forced to decide how he could save his life as two stolen cars screamed towards him.
Robert Clem’s decision has left him with a fractured collar bone, fractured leg, major concussion and swelling behind his eye, but luckily his life, after he was run off the road by criminals in stolen cars on Thursday night.
The father spoke to the Townsville Bulletin from hospital yesterday, where he was getting tests on his inj juries and recovering from a night he would rather forget.
Mr Clem, 43, was driving along the Bruce Highway to his Nome home about 10pm when he noticed something was wrong.
“As I came around the corner I just noticed two cars side-by-side,” he said. “I thought they were overtaking … but they both started to merge over to my side of the road.
“They were flashing their lights at me … and I drove on to the opposite side of the road to avoid them, but they followed.”
With two speeding stolen cars screaming towards his four-wheeldrive, Mr Clem did what he could to save himself.
“I’ve hooked the wheel to avoid them and my car has gone sideways and started to tip.
“I’ve just let go basically and braced myself for the car to roll. The car has then gone down an embankment (off the highway) and into trees and come to a very abrupt stop.”
Shaken, Mr Clem managed to get out of the car and walk to the road, where the stolen cars were nowhere to be seen.
Thinking he was unscathed, Mr Clem drove home under police watch, but noticed his steering wheel was bent backwards out of shape.
He would later learn that this is where he slammed his head before the car stopped, causing a major concussion.
Mr Clem realised the severe pain he was really in about 45 minutes later, and was taken to hospital immediately.
Hours after the crash, his thoughts were on what could have happened. “I burst into tears this morning thinking about what if I had my kids in the car.
“Or if I was in a smaller car … or 10m closer … I’d probably be dead. “They’re going to kill somebody.” The stolen cars that forced Mr Clem off the road had also been involved in other break-ins at Alligator Creek and Elliot Springs just minutes earlier.
Mr Clem said the carnage from the past few days had to stop.
“The police, the poor buggers, they are doing the best they can … but it’s just a revolving door.
“Some of the footage I’ve seen from the cars speeding through school zones … it’s terrifying.”