"I just went numb": Man recalls helicopter crash that gravely injured wife and stepson
A father has recounted the horrifying moment he watched his wife and stepson plummet to the ground in a wrecked helicopter after a mid-air collision on the Gold Coast.
Neil De Silva told the Herald Sun that he felt powerless to help as he watched his family collide with another helicopter at high speeds.
“Winnie and Leon’s helicopter took off, it only went about 200 metres in the air,” Mr De Silva said.
“I could see the other helicopter that was due to land … it looked like they were going to crash into one another."
“As it got closer, I was thinking ‘this is crazy, this looks really bad’ and I just went numb”.
After a pain-staking two hour wait, Neil was eventually informed that his wife Winnie, 33, and stepson Leon, 9, had survived the devastating crash, but had been rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Four others on their flight were killed in the collision, while another young boy, 10, also remains critical in hospital.
In a heart-wrenching twist to the De Silva's story, Neil revealed that the Geelong family were celebrating the end of a challenging year by treating themselves to a budget Gold Coast getaway.
Mr De Silva shared that it had always been Winnie’s dream to take her son Leon on a chopper ride, so they decided to treat themselves to the adventure ride.
“It was Winnie’s dream to take Leon on a helicopter,” Mr de Silva said.
“I thought I would shout them a 10-minute flight."
“We were on a budget holiday, trying to save money but I wanted them to have that experience.”
Winnie remains critical but stable in the Gold Coast University Hospital with two broken legs, a damaged left knee, a broken right shoulder and a broken collarbone.
Leon remains in a coma with facial and head injuries, a cracked skull and severe trauma to the brain in Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital.
Mr De Silva has organised a GoFundMe to support the family as he takes time off work to be by their side.
Leon moved from Kenya to Australia about a year ago to be with Winnie, and his life Down Under was set to be full of new experiences.
“This was his first helicopter flight,” he said. “Everything is a new experience for him.”
“I feel blessed that Winnie and Leon survived."
“Four people died — they are blessed to be alive.”
Image credits: GoFundMe