Local resident Paul Zervaas is urging drivers to properly secure their loads after a terrifying incident on the Princes Highway left him hospitalised and without his only mode of transport.
At around 9.30pm on Sunday, Paul and his passenger were travelling from Bairnsdale to Lindenow, nearing Glenaladale Road, when their vehicle struck a discarded fire extinguisher lying on the road.
“We were doing 100 kilometres an hour when we hit it,”
Paul said.
“It literally disabled the car instantly — the engine was destroyed, the main support beam bent, and the transmission was leaking. Within a minute, we’d lost all oil and the
engine died.”
The impact left the car smoking heavily, forcing the pair to get out quickly for fear of a fuel leak.
“We were terrified the car would catch fire,” Paul said.
“Trucks and cars were flying past us with no concern for
our safety.”
As someone living with a disability and chronic back and heart conditions, Paul found himself stranded without his walking aid or medication, which he had left at home for what was meant to be a short trip.
“My medication was due at 10pm, and by then there was no way we could make it home. My back pain was excruciating, and my heart started racing. I was standing on the side of the road watching smoke pour out of my car, wondering what would happen next.”
When roadside assistance refused to attend because the damage was considered a collision, according to Paul, he and his partner were left with no choice but to call 000.
“The paramedic arrived and hooked me up to a monitor — my heart was at nearly 200 beats per minute and my blood pressure was through the roof,” he said.
Emergency services soon closed the road while the car
was cleared.
Paul was transported to hospital, where he was treated for tachycardia before being discharged around 3am.
“We had to take a taxi home. The next day was spent trying to start an insurance claim and figure out what to do next,” he said.
The loss of his vehicle, which he described as his “beautiful car I’d babied for seven years,” has left Paul facing significant financial and emotional stress.
“All this because of one careless idiot,” he said.
“One person didn’t secure their load, and it set off a chain of events that’s made our lives a living hell.”
Paul’s message is simple
but urgent: “People — secure your loads.”
Even a small object falling from a vehicle can cause catastrophic consequences for others on the road. Police and road safety authorities continually remind motorists that it is their legal
and moral responsibility to ensure loads are properly tied down, covered, or restrained before travelling.
As Paul’s experience shows, failing to do so can have devastating, lifelong impacts on others.
