Traumatised Aussie driver's heartbreaking warning to motorists after she collided with a teen cyclist
Simone was driving on the Sunshine Coast in late October when she collided with a teenage boy on a road bike after he suddenly emerged from behind parked cars.
An Aussie driver left traumatised and without a vehicle after she collided with a teenage cyclist has slammed the lack of support for motorists not at fault - as she urged others to be vigilant on the roads this holiday season.
Simone was driving on the Sunshine Coast in late October when she collided with a teenage boy on a road bike after he suddenly emerged from behind parked cars.
The boy, believed to be in his early teens, was left with significant injuries and is understood to still be in hospital as of December 15.
'It happened in seconds - the kind of split-second moment that rewrites the direction of two lives at once,' Simone told Daily Mail.
Simone, who was a veterinary nurse for 27 years, tended to the teen's injuries before police and paramedics arrived.
'I gave the police full access to do whatever they needed to do for the parent's sake, because if I was the parent of this child, I'd want the police to make sure that all bases were covered,' she explained.
'That it wasn't a drink driver, that the car was mechanically sound.'
Simone says she was left shaken by the collision and has since sought support from a trauma psychologist.
Simone said she has forever been changed by the accident and has struggled in the aftermath
Her car is still being worked on by mechanics after she was forced to cough up a $1,000 excess fee to push the insurance claim through.
But for Simone - who has been cleared by police of any wrongdoing - the most shocking part of all has been the lack of support she has received.
'There is nothing out there for innocent drivers,' she says. 'It's been a fight and it's exhausting. I still don't have my car back, I've been fighting with my insurance company, I had to push for the "not at fault" statement in writing.
'I've looked to see if there was any emergency funding and that was when I was absolutely shocked to see it doesn't even exist.'
Simone said she's ineligible to receive support through Victim Assist - as this requires a violent crime or domestic violence incident.
She's also unable to receive compensation through compulsory third party insurance (CTP) as road bikes are uninsured and unregistered; and can't access any emergency financial assistance only covers disasters like fire and flood.
Simone, who has comprehensive car insurance, has also tried to seek government support for loss of transport or income but hit a dead end.
'I was advised I could go for the young cyclist's parents home and contents insurance, which is awful, and then you have to engage a lawyer at your own cost - and I morally don't want to do that,' she explained.
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'There's a huge black hole - even for psychological harm, that's not even listed on anything and its a psychological injury - you're incapacitated, not able to drive, not able to work.