Thirty years after he was thrown through an ACTION bus window, Peter Donnellan has scant memory of a mystery woman who helped him through his ordeal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
''Her name may have been Sonia,'' he said.
She had held his hand in the shocking stillness on a cold Monday morning of August 23, 1982, at Belconnen.
Metres away the crumpled bus looked as if it had tried to swallow a big gum tree. Driver Eric Brindell was trapped under the steering wheel.
Mr Donnellan tried to get up.
''As I recall I tried to get up again. She told me to lay back down and wait for help.
''It was a really comforting presence, just that reassurance, I don't recall what she said.
''I made a point of moving all my limbs. Apart from a nasty gash, every thing seemed to be working OK.
''One of the most pleasant sounds I heard was sirens. That just told me there was going to be help for everybody pretty soon.''
In one of the biggest casualty accidents of its time, 22 injured people were treated at Calvary and Royal Canberra hospitals.
A woman travelling with her two-year-old son was coming through the College Street intersection when her Ford Falcon collided with the bus carrying 40 passengers north on Eastern Valley Way.
An assessor with the Tax Office in Belconnen, Mr Donnellan had been reading his paper in a seat closest to the driver when the bus veered off course after the first impact and headed for the tree.
''I actually remember going through the air and thinking to myself, I'm pretty sure the actual thought was, 'Shit! This is going to hurt.' And I was right.''
''Nice drugs'' helped him through his first week in hospital. Then tedium followed as he lay flat on his back nursing three cracked vertebrae.
After three months off work he made a point of riding on a bus to check his nerve.
His thoughts have often returned to that quick-thinking woman. ''I have no idea who she is but I remain very grateful for her presence that day, it must have been quite traumatic for her. Thank you. It was a very kind and compassionate thing that you did and it stayed with me for decades.''
Another passenger, Terry Ross, was going to work at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and remembers the bus swerving, and him being knocked over while rushing to change seats. ''I made the big mistake of walking around [after the accident] because I had hurt my hip. I thought I'm not going to stiffen up, so I will keep walking.''
This masked a kidney injury, which came to light later that day when he said he could no longer walk.
He recovered, even though his initial medical assessment had overlooked another injury. ''Every time I had a beer I had a terrible pain down my right eye. I got fed up with this, I had to stop drinking beer. Or any cold drink to be honest.''
A year later an X-ray revealed a piece of glass on the bone of his scalp.
''It was like getting a huge tooth out,'' said Mr Ross, who has enjoyed his beer ever since.
