14-05-2025
Single mum fighting for life in hospital after driving on the wrong side of road and colliding head-on with a truck
A single mother has been left flighting for life in a coma after she drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with a truck.
Paulina Prieto, 36, was driving home when she mistakenly turned into traffic at an intersection on Melbourne 's CityLink about 2am on Friday.
Ms Prieto's car collided head-on with a truck inside the tunnel and she was left with critical injuries. The truck driver was uninjured.
The single mum had experienced a split-second moment of confusion after taking a wrong turn in the CityLink system before the crash.
Family friend Sebastian Alberti said there had been no road signs or alerts Ms Prieto was travelling down the wrong side of the tunnel.
'We thought that if she had been travelling down the wrong way for such a long time there would be some signs or some signals or some sort of alerts to let her know or the other driver,' Mr Alberti told 7News.
Ms Prieto's daughter Monse Romero, 14, said she was missing her 'best friend'.
'My heart just kind of stopped. I didn't really know what to think. It's hard her not talking back to me and not making the jokes we make,' she said.
Ms Prieto, who works three jobs to support herself and her daughter, faces a long road to recovery with doctors estimating she could be in hospital for five months.
Mr Alberti has started a GoFundMe for the single mum and her daughter which has raised over $11,000 of its $16,000 goal.
'She will have rehab and it will take time for her to be independent and be fit to return to work,' Mr Alberti wrote.
'During this time off work any donations provided will assist with Paulina and her daughter pay for costs of living, car expenses and medical expenses.
