Two Families Rocked By Traumatic Road Accidents

Last weekend, in two separate single vehicle traffic accidents, two cars flew off the road and into ditches – all of the occupants were lucky to survive the split-second moment in which their cars left the road.

On Thursday afternoon, Strathdickie resident Mariz Zarina had just picked her two sons up from school and was on her way to a dentist appointment in Cannonvale in wet weather conditions when her car started sliding uncontrollably across the road.

Mariz recalls skidding towards a bus pole and, without being able to control the steering wheel, the vehicle hit the pole and flew into the ditch.

Mariz lost consciousness but witnesses later informed her that the car rolled three times.

Miraculously no-one was hurt.

“The boys were aware of everything - it was scary and traumatising especially for my little boy, Andy,” said Mariz.

“All the windows, front and rear were damaged, and we were just so lucky that there was not a single injury. But the following day, I felt the body pain in my head and neck.

In a separate incident, less than 24 hours later in Cannonvale, local resident Maz was driving to the shops, just around the corner from her house, when she recalls an animal running directly in front of her car.

A split-second moment caused her to instinctively steer away from it and straight into a ditch with such force that the doors bent out of shape and she was trapped inside.

Maz recalls being on two wheels and remembers bouncing in her seat to trying to push her side down to prevent the vehicle from flipping.

“I honestly thought I was going to die, especially when I saw the rocks” she said.

Once the vehicle came to a halt, some quick-thinking bystanders raced to the rescue and comforted Maz until the emergency services arrived.

“I can’t even express the gratitude I have for them,” she said.

“They were fantastic trying to keep me calm, I’m not sure what I would have done without them.”

Similarly, passers-by stopped to aid Mariz and her two sons, an act of kindness that she says her family will never forget.

Mariz also wants to encourage other residents to be careful on the roads, especially in wet conditions.

“Check your car is in good and safe condition,” she said.

“The seatbelts are important - that saved us. I was not going fast because there was a car before me, but I would like to remind people to be mindful when driving and check your tyres - the cause of my accident was that I lost traction.”

In her incident, Maz believes that placing barriers on the stretch of road where her accident took place would help prevent future upset.

This spot, opposite the police station in Cannonvale, was the same site as where a fatal accident took place a few years earlier.

Mariz Zarina with her sons, 15-year-old Gabriel and nine-year-old Andy

The site of the accident on Shute Harbour Road near Plemenuk Road

Maz whose vehicle crashed in Cannonvale

The site of the accident, opposite Cannonvale Police Station

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