Latest news with #CalebHumphries
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
It used to be a strict rule of the road. But when Caleb broke down, he found out one of Australia's most treasured traditions is now a sick joke
More than 40 motorists ignored a stranded driver for two days as he begged for their help after his car broke down on one of Australia's loneliest highways. Caleb Humphries, 23, was driving across the Nullarbor plain from Casino, in northern NSW, to Western Australia 's Margaret River when part of his Nissan Patrol's engine failed. He tried to fix his broken tensioner pulley by the roadside but it proved impossible and he was forced to sit tight and wait for help to arrive. But with no mobile or internet service, Mr Humphries stuck the word HELP in big tape letters on his rear door, and wrote it again all in the dust of his grime-encrusted car. Dozens of passing motorists just snubbed his plea though as he sat on the roof of his car, hoping for a Good Samaritan to stop and offer him a lift to civilisation. He waited two days by the vehicle, 30km from the nearest town of Madura in WA and lived off the little food he had which didn't go bad in the heat. 'I just had heaps of water, and a box of Shapes, and a few protein bars,' he told the Daily Mail. 'I thought, I'm stuck, no-one is stopping, I have no reception, and I can't contact anyone. I'm in a bit of a pickle.' Meanwhile, unknown to him, his family in NSW were growing increasingly worried. A family friend posted a desperate request for help on a community Facebook group after he stopped contacting them following the July 29 breakdown. As he faced his second night alone in the desert - after again trying to wave down passing cars in vain - a network of strangers were organising his rescue. A Margaret River resident spied the plea for help on Facebook before informing her truck-driving friend, Peter Rowling. Mr Rowling passed on Mr Humphries' approximate location to a trucking colleague, Chevy Hawkins, who was passing through the Nullarbor that evening. He promised to keep an eye out for the stranded driver - and spotted the grey Nissan by the side of the highway as he drove down the dark road in the middle of the night. He pulled over just before midnight and woke Mr Humphries through the window before using his satellite internet link to put him in contact with his friends in Margaret River. The pair then stayed together for about an hour while Mr Humphries organised spare parts for the car from Kalgoorlie. Mr Humphries was passed by more than 40 motorists after breaking down, but none of them stopped to help him (the highway is pictured) The parts finally arrived the next morning and Mr Humphries got back on the road. Mr Rowling commended Mr Hawkins for helping the 23-year-old. 'Chevy stopped and got it sorted, stayed with (Mr Humphries) for an hour so the lad could call his family,' he wrote on social media. 'You're a bloody legend, mate.' 'A friend of mine seen a post about a young fellah that was on the Nullarbor and broken down, no-one had heard from him for two days. 'Not one person stopped to help him in two days, what has our world come to?' Mr Rowling later said people would traditionally stop to check if motorists needed drinks or mechanical help if they looked in trouble on the long remote road. 'I don't expect to be praised for what I did,' Mr Hawkins said after the incident. 'It's just pretty shameful that he was seeking help and no one bothered to care. 'The Eyre Highway is one busy road, it's not hard to take five minutes out of your day to stop and check. 'I'm glad I received the text saying he was missing and I could do what I could.' Mother Paula Molnar thanked all involved and said it had been a 'huge relief' to hear from her son. 'Chevy Hawkins thank you so much for stopping to help Caleb... We cannot thank you enough,' she said. 'Being so far away and not knowing where your child is or if they are okay, that call from Caleb when you got to him was a huge relief.'
ABC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- ABC News
Stranded Nullarbor driver hoping for help watches cars go by for two days
If you decide to embark on driving Australia's longest stretch of straight road, you have to be prepared for anything. When Caleb Humphries's car broke down on the Nullarbor Plain, he spent two days watching cars drive past him, hoping someone would stop. They didn't. The 23-year-old was stranded about 30 kilometres from the nearest roadhouse and tried everything to get his car up and running. "I had every other part I could possibly have for my car, except for the two parts that broke," he said. "At that time, I tried to make a dodgy fix myself, but nothing worked, and it wasn't until then that I realised nothing was working." Each time a car passed him on the Eyre Highway, he would get out of his car to alert the driver that he needed help. "But no-one stopped," he said. "I was starting to get hungry on the second day. I had no more food because all my food went bad." Truck driver Chevy Hawkins was on his way home after helping to deliver hay to draught-stricken South Australia when his mum contacted him to say a man was stuck on Eyre Highway near Madura. "Probably 32 kilometres on the west side of Madura, there was a Nissan Patrol on the side of the road," he said. "I pulled up, went and saw young Caleb [in his car] and woke him up, and started talking to him. Mr Hawkins was able to use his Starlink internet to get Mr Humphries in contact with friends in Margaret River. "I stayed with him for, it'd be good 45 minutes to an hour, just so he could get in touch with people," he said. "He organised some parts from Kalgoorlie that got sent out to him, and he got back on the road." Mr Hawkins said he was disappointed Mr Humphries had to wait so long for help. "It's honestly shameful of the people who went past and didn't stop," he said. "If you don't feel safe, you don't have to get out of the car to ask if they're OK. You can still sit in your car and check they're OK." When Sarah Howell heard her son's friend, Mr Humphries, was in trouble she knew she had to help. But, as a Margaret River local, Ms Howell said she had to get creative with finding help from more than 1,200 kilometres away. "I just thought, well, you know, the only place I can start is in my local community," she said. Ms Howell made a post asking for help in a Margaret River community group on Facebook, which quickly made its way into trucking and caravanning groups across the south of the state. From there, she was able to coordinate communication with Mr Humphries and get replacement parts out to him. "It really was a massive logistical effort between a gentleman in Albany, a gentleman in Kalgoorlie, and another woman in Margaret River," she said. Ms Howell said the generosity of strangers was vital in getting Mr Humphries to his final destination in the south-west of WA. "People absolutely restored my faith in humanity. I was just so, so grateful," she said. Mr Humphries arrived safely in the South West on August 1.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ominous message taped to car next to remote Aussie highway reveals sad new reality
Despite the word 'help' being written over and over again on the dirt-covered windows of Caleb Humphries' 4WD — and later spelled out using yellow tape — the 23-year-old was left for days on the Nullarbor without phone signal, much food, or any assistance from fellow interstate travellers. The driver was travelling across the country from Casino in New South Wales to Margaret River in Western Australia last month when his engine warning light flashed on. He pulled over and quickly realised a vital part of his motor had completely "melted". "I thought I'd blown a radiator hose, but it turns out I had melted a tensioner pulley in the engine," he told Yahoo News. After ransacking his car in an attempt to find something he could use as a makeshift part, he came up empty-handed. He covered his 4WD in his four-letter message and waited on the side of the road — one notorious for its remoteness. When several vehicles finally passed and he tried to wave them down, no one stopped to help. It was then that he realised he was in trouble. "I thought, I'm stuck, no one is stopping, I have no reception, and I can't contact anyone. I'm in a bit of a pickle," he recalled. He was stranded roughly 30 kilometres away from the nearest town, Madura, and decided against leaving his car to find help. "It would have been a fair trek... [and] it's easier to locate a car than it is a person in the middle of the desert," he said, explaining his reasoning to stay inside his 4WD. Young driver's loved ones 'panic' after no contact for over a day Caleb broke down on the morning of Tuesday, July 29, and by lunchtime, his loved ones began to panic. The last they had heard from him was through a social media post that showed a picture of him pulled up by the side of the road. "It was probably about 1 pm on Tuesday, and nobody had heard from him... That's when we all went into panic mode," Paula Molnar, Caleb's mum, told Yahoo News. In a desperate bid for help, a family friend posted a missing person notification on a local community page on Facebook. As day turned to night, there was still no word from him. "You hear stories about what happens to people out there. It was total worry," Paula said, explaining she felt "helpless" almost 3,000 kilometres away in NSW. Network of strangers helped to rescue the stranded driver The following evening, as cars continued to speed past Caleb, Margaret River resident Bec Dale sat at home over 1,200 kilometres away. She spotted the missing person post on Facebook and decided to send it to a truckie friend she knows, Peter Rowling. "I didn't know the kid, I didn't know the lady who put the post up. I just saw it and went, 'someone from here must be stuck. I'll flick that to Pete'. It just snowballed from there," Bec told Yahoo News. Pete reached out to fellow truckie Chevy Hawkins who he had only met days earlier. Chevy happened to be passing through the Nullarbor that evening, and within an hour, Bec received word that they'd made contact with Caleb. "My mate has a truck, he's got good lights and seen him quite easily," Pete told Yahoo News. "He pulled up and spent an hour with him because he's got StarLink [a satellite internet service]." Despite Chevy waking Caleb up in the middle of the night, with the 23-year-old admitting he had "jumped away from the window" with fright, he was relieved someone had finally stopped to help. The pair were able to communicate to a friend what part the 4WD needed, and the network of truckies arranged for the part to be brought by another driver from Kalgoorlie. It was then that Paula received word that her son was alive and well. "I felt hopeless as a mum, but this whole team of people just rallied around and knew what to do. I was just so thankful and humbled. I can't thank them enough," she said. "When I knew he was safe, I breathed a sigh of relief." After spending a second night in his 4WD, with the truckie unable to tow the vehicle, the part arrived on the Thursday morning, and Caleb was able to fix his car. The "box of crackers and three to four muesli bars" had kept him going, and he was now free to get behind the wheel and start the ignition. Sad reality behind outback rescue along Nullarbor Plain Every person involved in the breakdown and rescue repeated one question to Yahoo News. Why did no one stop? Pete, who spends a lot of time on the remote roads of Australia, says "it's a sign of the times" what happened to Caleb. "The problem is a lot of people don't stop because of movies, and it feels dangerous. That's fair enough," Pete said. "But surely you can lock your doors, wind your window down a little bit, and ask if someone is OK. "Out on the Nullarbor when there's a long way between drinks, you make sure to pull over and ask if they're all right," he said. "It's happening less and less now." Bec expressed relief to learn the driver, who is a similar age to her son, was safely found. She said her involvement was no trouble at all, saying "it was just a mate helping a mate". "It's just the true Aussie spirit," she claimed. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Message on side of car on outback highway reveals scary reality
Despite the word 'help' being written over and over again on the dirt-splattered windows of Caleb Humphries' 4WD — and later spelled out using yellow tape — the 23-year-old was left for days on the Nullarbor without a phone signal, much food, or any assistance from fellow interstate travellers. The driver was travelling across the country from Casino in New South Wales to Margaret River in Western Australia last month when his engine warning light flashed on. He pulled over and quickly learned a vital part of his motor had completely "melted". "I thought I'd blown a radiator hose, but it turns out I had melted a tensioner pulley in the engine," he told Yahoo News. After ransacking his car in an attempt to find something he could use as a makeshift part, he came up empty-handed. He covered his 4WD in his four-letter message and waited on the side of the road — one notorious for its remoteness. When several vehicles finally passed and he tried to wave them down, no one stopped to help. It was then that he realised he was in trouble. "I thought, I'm stuck, no one is stopping, I have no reception, and I can't contact anyone. I'm in a bit of a pickle," he recalled. He was stranded roughly 30 kilometres away from the nearest town, Madura, and decided against leaving his car to find help. "It would have been a fair trek... [and] it's easier to locate a car than it is a person in the middle of the desert," he said, explaining his reasoning to stay inside his 4WD. Young driver's loved ones 'panic' after no contact for over a day Caleb broke down on the morning of Tuesday, July 29, and by lunchtime, his loved ones began to panic. The last they had heard from him was through a social media post that showed a picture of him pulled up by the side of the road. "It was probably about 1 pm on Tuesday, and nobody had heard from him... That's when we all went into panic mode," Paula Molnar, Caleb's mum, told Yahoo News. In a desperate bid for help, a family friend posted a missing person notification on a local community page on Facebook. As day turned to night, there was still no word from him. "You hear stories about what happens to people out there. It was total worry," Paula said, explaining she felt "helpless" almost 3,000 kilometres away in NSW. Network of strangers helped to rescue the stranded driver The following evening, as cars continued to speed past Caleb, Margaret River resident Bec Dale sat at home over 1,200 kilometres away. She spotted the missing person post on Facebook and decided to send it to a truckie friend she knows, Peter Rowling. "I didn't know the kid, I didn't know the lady who put the post up. I just saw it and went, 'someone from here must be stuck. I'll flick that to Pete'. It just snowballed from there," Bec told Yahoo News. Pete reached out to fellow truckie Chevy Hawkins who he had only met days earlier. Chevy happened to be passing through the Nullarbor that evening, and within an hour, Bec received word that they'd made contact with Caleb. "My mate has a truck, he's got good lights and seen him quite easily," Pete told Yahoo News. "He pulled up and spent an hour with him because he's got StarLink [a satellite internet service]." Despite Chevy waking Caleb up in the middle of the night, with the 23-year-old admitting he had "jumped away from the window" with fright, he was relieved someone had finally stopped to help. The pair were able to communicate to a friend what part the 4WD needed, and the network of truckies arranged for the part to be brought by another driver from Kalgoorlie. It was then that Paula received word that her son was alive and well. "I felt hopeless as a mum, but this whole team of people just rallied around and knew what to do. I was just so thankful and humbled. I can't thank them enough," she said. "When I knew he was safe, I breathed a sigh of relief." After spending a second night in his 4WD, with the truckie unable to tow the vehicle, the part arrived on the Thursday morning, and Caleb was able to fix his car. The "box of crackers and three to four muesli bars" had kept him going, and he was now free to get behind the wheel and start the ignition. Sad reality behind outback rescue along Nullarbor Plain Every person involved in the breakdown and rescue repeated one question to Yahoo News. Why did no one stop? Pete, who spends a lot of time on the remote roads of Australia, says "it's a sign of the times" what happened to Caleb. "The problem is a lot of people don't stop because of movies, and it feels dangerous. That's fair enough," Pete said. "But surely you can lock your doors, wind your window down a little bit, and ask if someone is OK. "Out on the Nullarbor when there's a long way between drinks, you make sure to pull over and ask if they're all right," he said. "It's happening less and less now." Bec expressed relief to learn the driver, who is a similar age to her son, was safely found. She said her involvement was no trouble at all, saying "it was just a mate helping a mate". "It's just the true Aussie spirit," she claimed. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
