A Brisbane motorcyclist who was trapped beneath a car after a crash on the city’s north side says he believes a group of strangers saved his life.
Tyler Weibe was riding to work on Wednesday morning when the collision happened at Kedron about 8:30am. Police said early investigations indicate a vehicle travelling on Gympie Road crossed into the wrong lane and hit another car. That second vehicle then struck Mr Weibe’s motorcycle, pinning him underneath.
Mr Weibe suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a collapsed lung. He was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition but has since stabilised.
Recalling the terrifying moments after the crash, Mr Weibe said, “I was being dragged and when it stopped, my head and chest were under the car.
“Initially it was ‘can I get out?’ and then it was ‘man I am dying, this is it.’
“[My] wife and two kids are not here, and this is it.”
He said he was trapped for about two minutes before bystanders rushed in and tried to lift the vehicle off him.
“I started getting dragged out and then [the car] came back down on top of me in a different position,” he said.
“I could hear all my ribs cracking again and breaking and I didn’t have that extra breath anymore.
“Luckily a split second later, the car lifts up and I’m pulled out.”
Mr Weibe believes he was only moments from death.
“I think there was probably five seconds left, that I had, before I think I was dead,” he said.
The father of two said he “wouldn’t be here” without the good Samaritans who came to his rescue.
“I get more time with my daughters, I get more time with my family and a second lease on life,” he said.
“I can’t say thank you enough.”
Witness Cameron Vellacott said about 15 people ran to help.
“It was heartwarming to see so many people just jump to the aid of someone so quickly, who they clearly didn’t know and had no context for the situation,” Mr Vellacott said.
“I’m really just glad that all the people who were involved are ok.”
Mr Weibe, a Canadian expat who became an Australian citizen in January, said the response to the crash left a lasting impression on him.
“It really showed Australia and Queenslanders stepping up,” Mr Weibe said.
He added that the actions of those who helped made him “proud to be here”.
