Pain from horrific hit and run still lingers on
A ROAR of an engine, bikes crunching under the weight of a bumper, and the screams of injured friends cutting through the morning air.
The day life changed for five cyclists is burnt into their memories and they can relive it like it happened yesterday, instead of 17 months ago.
Brad Wilton was among five friends out for a morning bike ride on February 19 last year when they were hit by a car.
The driver, Douglass Laurence Foley, 29, was on meth, asleep at the wheel, and didn’t stop to help.
He was sentenced to seven years’ jail over the crash, but will most likely get out on parole next year.
Mr Wilton, who lives with PTSD and immense trauma caused by the crash, said the sentence wasn’t harsh enough, and would never take away the pain caused in his life.
It was about 5.30am and the sun was beginning to rise over Townsville as a group of five friends rode along Dalrymple Rd in Mount Louisa.
In the group were Mr Wilton, lawyer Jade Connor, pharmacist Dianne Graham and John and Kirsten Masson.
They were seasoned riders cycling in single file in the green bike lane, just like any other morning.
But without warning, they were hit.
Bikes and bodies were crumpled, leaving every rider injured and helpless on the bitumen.
Foley took off, dumped the car at a nearby wreckers, walked home, took an antidepressant and went to sleep.
During his court sentence, it was revealed he was on meth and had fallen asleep
when the crash happened.
Foley was on bail at the time of the crash for being caught with meth.
His addiction to meth started in 2019, and at his worst, he was taking one to two points every day.
More than 18 months on from the horrific crash, Foley’s court matter is over, but Mr Wilton’s life has not got back to normal.
“I walk much slower, I fatigue a lot quicker, I get frustrated, I have been diagnosed with PTSD, I cry once a week,” Mr Wilton said. “I’m
not the person I used to be.”
Mr Wilton suffered some of the worst injuries out of the group, including nine broken ribs, five spinal fractures and a collapsed lung.
He spent five months off work, which crippled his newly opened business, and things still haven’t returned to normal.
He is still in rehabilitation, sees a psychologist every three weeks and a physiotherapist every fortnight.
He used to be adventurous, and now he struggles to get through a day of work.
“I’ve got to live with this for the rest of my life,” he said.
Mr Masson and his wife, Kirsten, considered themselves as the luckier ones, but still spent months in recovery.
Their injuries consisted of a broken shoulder, broken ribs and a fractured pelvis.
“I remember it all, it was a very surreal event, but over the course of time, we’ve recovered,” Mr Masson said.
Unlike Mr Wilton, the husband and wife duo have hopped back on the bike.
“The first ride back was a bit nerve-racking; we bought a
little radar device that tells you when a car is coming,” Mr Masson said.
“It took a few rides to get back into the swing of things.
“But I was a bit tentative, a bit jumpy.”
Mr Wilton said his fiveyear-old son was calling the shots about whether he rode again.
“My wife mentioned the incident to the kids and I can’t seem to get them over the line,” Mr Wilton said.
He didn’t think Foley’s sentence was harsh enough.
“He will walk out of jail
next year without anything,” Mr Wilton said.
“He’s had nothing taken away from him.
“It just shows one person’s moment of madness could change a person’s life.”
Mr Masson has put the whole ordeal behind him, but says there is a serious issue that needs addressing.
“It’s clear that as a society, we have a problem with drugtaking,” Mr Masson said.
“I don’t know how we solve that, but we have a problem with people driving under meth and other drugs.”