Latest news with #PaulinaPrieto
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
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.
7NEWS
13-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Mum fighting for life in hospital after driving on wrong side of road before head-on truck collision
The family of a single mum left fighting for life after she drove on the wrong side of an Australian freeway and collided head-on with a truck say the mistake could happen to anyone. Paulina Prieto, 36, was heading home in the early hours of Friday morning when she turned at an intersection and travelled against traffic on the city-bound lanes of Melbourne 's CityLink. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Daughter of woman left fighting for life after crash urges public for help. She crashed head-on into a truck inside the tunnel at Burnley just after 2am and was rushed to hospital with critical injuries. The truck driver was not injured. 'My heart just kind of stopped. I didn't really know what to think,' Prieto's 14-year-old daughter Monse Romero told 7NEWS. 'It was really shocking the first two days. I did cry a little bit.' Family say the mum, who works three jobs, had a moment of confusion after taking a wrong turn, and believe her mistake could happen to anyone. '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,' family friend Sebastian Alberti said. 'There's a lot of questions why she wasn't notified or why the truck driver [wasn't] notified.' The mother remains in an induced coma at The Alfred Hospital but is slowly making improvements each day. 'It's hard her not talking back to me and not making the jokes we make,' her daughter said. Her family is preparing for a long recovery and a GoFundMe has been launched to assist with costs while she is in hospital.
