Paramedic worried for unsafe driver

A critical care paramedic almost wiped off the road by a woman driving in the wrong lane on Three Mile Hill Rd says it is only a matter of time before she is involved in an accident.

After almost causing a head-on crash, the woman fled the scene.

Now, he was urging the woman to seek help from family or the police as he did not want to be called to an accident involving her.

Hato Hone St John critical care paramedic Craig Didham was commuting from Mosgiel to the Dunedin central ambulance base via Three Mile Hill Rd on May 3.

A car came speeding around a corner in the dark with its headlights turned off — on his side of the road.

"I was able to take evasive action on to the left-hand side ... luckily there was a ditch there."

The woman continued on the wrong side of the road and slammed into the side of Mr Didham’s vehicle.

When he went to talk to her, he could not get her door open and was worried she might have been experiencing a medical event.

The woman then wound down her window and apologised, saying "oh sorry, I must have been on your side of the road", he said.

Hato Hone St John critical care paramedic Craig Didham was almost crashed into head-on while...
Hato Hone St John critical care paramedic Craig Didham was almost crashed into head-on while driving to work via Three Mile Hill earlier this month. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
"She didn’t seem to know how to operate any of her controls, and started revving the engine ... at that point I was a bit concerned that she might reverse and squash me."

He briefly jumped back into his truck, but "when I got back out, she had driven off," he said.

Mr Didham called police, but, he had not recorded her number plate.

Police have not been able to locate the woman.

He said his main worry was "with driving like that, it might only be a matter of time until she causes another accident".

As a paramedic, Mr Didham had been to "countless" crashes, many of which were on Three Mile Hill.

"To the person who did hit me, I’m urging them to do the right thing and to get in contact with the police.

"And to their family members, to have a chat with them about their driving and to get in contact with the police. I’m really, really concerned this person could cause another car crash and cause real harm to other road users or themselves."

laine.priestley@odt.co.nz

 

 

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