Exford Primary School bus crash victim breaks her silence after …
Exford Primary School bus crash victim breaks her silence after losing her arm when it was struck by a truck
A 10-year old girl who lost her arm in a horror bus crash has relived the devastating tragedy and revealed how she's rebuilding her life just 14 weeks later.
Awhe Pikari was with her two brothers on a school bus when it was hit by a truck, sending the coach flying off the road onto its side with 46 children inside on May 16.
She was among 10 kids seriously injured in the smash, which happened soon after it left Exford Primary School near Melton, 50km west of Melbourne[2], at about 3.55pm.
Her brothers escaped with minor injuries, but little Awhe had to be freed from the wreckage and her left arm needed to be amputated.
'It wasn't scary,' she revealed on Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday. 'It's just that I was so tired.'
The brave Year 5 youngster said her parents later broke the news to her about the loss of her arm but they added: 'So long as you're still here with us, we can move on.
'And I'm not dead, so....'
Awhe Pikari, 10, (pictured) who lost her arm in a horror bus crash has relived the devastating tragedy and revealed how she's rebuilding her life just 14 weeks later
She was among 10 kids seriously injured in the smash, which happened soon after it left Exford Primary School near Melton, 50km west of Melbourne, around 3.55pm on May 16
Her New Zealand-born father Daniel, who works in refrigerated warehousing, revealed the school initially told him the accident was not serious.
'We received a message from the school that there's been a minor accident,' he said. 'I was just finishing work in Sunshine and I came straight down.
'Saw the two boys, they were all fine, but then obviously, first natural instinct is, "Where's my other baby?"'
Awhe was the first student taken from the crash site to hospital where surgeons fought to keep her alive, but were unable to save her arm.
'At this time, I'm still being very hopeful - maybe broken arm, maybe shattered bones or big lacerations on her arms,' said her father.
'Then we received the news that unfortunately her left arm had to be amputated. We wanted to be the ones that told her.'
Less than four months later, Awhe is courageously relearning life's basics to cope with being one-handed which makes even simple tasks like brushing her teeth tricky.
She explained how she puts the brush down before squeezing out toothpaste onto it and then picking the toothbrush back up again to then use it normally.
Awhe is also coming to terms with other challenges: 'Doing my bed sheets, lifting up stuff which should be lifted up with two hands...'
But she's already able to go back to enjoying simple pleasures like having fun in a swimming pool.
'I learned how to swim and how to push myself to do these type of activities,' she said. 'I can brush my hair now but I just can't tie it up yet.
Despite already now being back at school after undergoing two operations, she still has to be careful around her classmates, she said.
'One main thing - do not go outside,' she explained. 'There's balls flying around...and they might hurt my stump.'
Awhe Pikri's Kiwi-born father Daniel (left) who works in refrigerated warehousing, revealed the school initially told him the accident was not serious
Because of her age and the fact she will be growing constantly in the coming years, she could have to wait years before she can be fitted with a prosthetic arm.
Her dad added: 'We'll just put one foot after the other.
'We just got to keep walking forward.'
The accident happened just 1km from Awhe's school when a truck allegedly ran into the back of the bus as it attempted to turn right off the highway.
Nine children were trapped in the wreckage, while eight suffered life-threatening injuries, eight had serious injuries and 30 were described as 'walking wounded'.
Another child who lost limbs in the accident had to have both their arms amputated.
Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Cruse said it was a miracle no-one was killed in the accident.
'The bus has suffered significant damage, it’s also overturned,' he said.
'It’s very fortunate that the injuries aren’t more serious, but I must stress it is still a very serious incident.'
Truck driver Jamie Gleeson, 49, was arrested at the scene and charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
He faced court later the following day where further details about the horrific crash were revealed.
Prosecutor Ben Kerwin said Mr Gleeson had allegedly finished work an hour earlier after spending about 10 hours driving 'five to six' loads of clay from Bulla to a worksite in the inner Melbourne suburb of Kensington.
He was on his way home driving his 'usual route', he said.
The accident happened just 1km from Awhe's school when a truck allegedly ran into the back of the bus as it attempted to turn right off the highway
Mr Kerwin alleged there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs and Mr Gleeson told investigators he was driving about 70km per hour - 10km per hour below the posted speed limit.
The court heard the bus had slowed and was indicating right when its right rear panel was struck by the truck - causing it to flip on its side.
'Next thing I know the bus in front slowed and started to go to the right and all of a sudden I saw brake lights,' the father of two allegedly told police.
'I tried to take evasive action but I couldn't ... the impact didn't feel massive.'
Mr Gleeson was released on bail and will return to court in October.
References
- ^ Kevin Airs For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Melbourne (www.dailymail.co.uk)