Horror crash traumatises Perth grandma now ‘scared to drive'
Susan Eyden was driving with her granddaughter, Gracee Thompson, sat in the backseat of her car when it was involved in a fatal crash with three other vehicles on Albany Highway, near Cooke Road, in Mt Cooke about 2.45pm on July 7.
The crash took the lives of two 83-year-olds and injured six others.
Ms Eyden was on her way to Port Kennedy from Albany, where Gracee lives, with the youngster looking forward to spending the first week of school holidays at her Nanna and Pop's house. Perth grandmother, Susan Eyden, with daughter Delta. Credit: Supplied
Ms Eyden, 70, was much worse off undergoing three surgeries to repair damage to her intestines, skull, ribs and collar bones.
As she continues to recover, she told The West Australian the accident has scarred her and she 'will not be driving again'.
'I am thankful I am still alive and Gracee is back home and OK,' she said. 'People need to take more care when they're on the road. Police say they rushed to the scene after reports a grey Ford Falcon, a silver MG3, a white BMW E53 and a Volvo truck towing three trailers collided on Albany Highway. Credit: Supplied
'I would prefer to rely on the train or my family to get around after everything that has happened.'
Ms Eyden's husband, Ted Thompson spent every waking moment by his wife's hospital bedside as she lay unconscious for nearly a week.
Mr Thompson, a 27-year veteran of WA Police, said nothing could have prepared him for the past few days, almost losing the people he loves most.
'Devastated doesn't cover it,' he said through tears on Thursday. 'Susan and Gracee are such beautiful souls, seeing them like this . . . it hurts.'
'I have had people die in my arms and seen all sorts of carnage, but when it's your own family, it's a different story, no one prepares you for this. Nothing about being a police officer prepared me for this.'
On Monday, Ms Eyden took her first independent breath since the crash, a moment Mr Thompson described as 'relieving' and 'special.'
'We took a big step forward on Monday,' he said. 'Sue is now breathing on her own. She's even able to whisper a little, and while she's still very sore, we are relieved and happy.
'Sue has improved and has now been moved out of ICU into the trauma ward for the next stage of her recovery — a big step forward and very welcome news. A special moment.'
Mr Thompson, who served as a traffic officer during his career, has condemned police and politicians for failing to prioritise WA's shameful road toll.
The toll this year now stands at 118.
The Road Safety Commission last week confirmed the State has recorded its highest number of deaths by this time of year in 18 years.
'With today's vehicles being so technologically advanced — with safety built in — the road toll should be low, there is simply too many crashes,' Mr Thompson said. Gracee was looking forward to spending the first week of school holidays at Nana and Pops house in Port Kennedy but has instead spent the week in hospital with a broken collar bone and a concussion. Credit: Supplied
Mr Thompson said there needs to be 'more visible police.'
'We need more cameras, more police officers, more motorbikes,' he said.
'When I first joined the job, I was on the bikes, and we had a lot of bikes in Perth traffic, we were everywhere, we were all over them like a rash, and things weren't too bad . . . we never saw bad driver behaviour on this level.
'Now everyone is in a rush and has a bad attitude to driving . . . people are constantly pushing in front of people to go faster, people make bad decisions, do stupid things and nothing happens, no consequences.'
Mr Thompson added: 'People might not like the police, but they slow down for them.
'Everyone knows that you see a police car or coppers in uniform, whether they're doing RBTs or speed cameras or pulling people over or whatever, that has a calming effect on people.
'As much as Col Blanch and Roger Cook would say, 'we've budgeted this', and 'we do that' there's just not enough police on the road.
'What has happened to my family is not an isolated incident, it's a common thread through our driving and it's terrible because it could be prevented.' Ted Thompson nearly lost his wife and granddaughter in car crash outside Royal Perth Hospital in Perth. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
A WA Government spokesperson disagreed with Mr Thompson saying there are 'more police officers on our roads than ever before in history' without acknowledging the increase in the number of road-users.
'Police have conducted record-high levels of enforcement activities in direct response to the high road toll and will continue to actively enforce road laws,' the spokesperson said.
'Our Government has invested more than $30 million to boost regional road safety with two new drug and alcohol buses and a fleet of highly-visible highway patrol cars.'
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