Distracted Driver Totals Subaru

Occurred on December 17, 2016 / Tyndale, New South Wales, Australia

Info from Licensor: "My wife and I were traveling Northbound on the Pacific Highway from Sydney to Brisbane as we were moving interstate. We had just stopped for a late lunch and were ready for a few more hours of driving before hitting the QLD border. Because we were moving, we had the backseat full of luggage and a boot full of cleaning chemicals and other liquids that the removalist would not pack. We had just been singing xmas carols as we were listening to a regional radio station at the time (hence the country music playing) before the accident. We were very excited about moving from Sydney to Brisbane and more excited about the xmas & new years cruise we were about to embark on after receiving our boxes on the 21 Dec. In a blink of an eye - everything changed. It was all over so quickly. All I remember is seeing the ute swerve in front of me, my wife gasp and then bang! Instinct obviously kicked in right before impact as I managed to swerve slightly, avoiding a full head on collision. It was a two-way stretch of the highway traveling in flowing traffic at 100km p/h. Upon impact, the car spun out and we ended up facing the wrong way on our side of the road. Immediately I remember asking my wife if she was okay, before we started getting worried as we thought there was smoke. I gave myself a quick pat down to make sure I could feel everything and could not see any blood. I quickly turned the car off before climbing out through the passenger side. The "smoke" was actually just air bag dust. The people from the ute in front of us were first at the car to help. They moved us to the other side of the road where the residents of the house came out to also assist. Our stuff was everywhere. Laptop in the middle of the highway, clothes in trees, broken chemical bottles everywhere. It was a mess. At first I didn't realize how bad it was as the passenger side of the car was okay. Plus I wasn't in any pain. My wife was okay sitting in the shade with some water while we waited for the police/ambulance. It wasn't until 5 mins later once I had called emergency services that I walked around the other side of the car. I broke down at that point - to be honest, the car was our pride and joy. We had met a lot of new friends over the past 2 years through car clubs etc. It was in perfect condition. I can't fault the safety features of the Subaru WRX. I honestly believe it would have been a different outcome in a different car. The other car was about 200m up the road with lots of other cars pulled over assisting. Police and Ambulance arrived pretty quickly and took over the scene. Before I could speak with the other driver, she was taken to hospital in a stable condition for precaution. I was checked out but opted out of going to hospital. All my vitals were good and to be honest, I was more focused on getting everything out of the car. I was stressed about the removal and our holiday, knowing we were unlikely to have time to get back to the tow yard being in regional NSW at the time. The lovely people from the house helped us out by collecting all of our belongings while we waited for some friends to come pick us up. Luckily they were only a few hours up the road. When taking my statement the police knew we weren't at fault or anything from the amount of witnesses that saw the accident. They wouldn't tell me what they thought but I could only assume that she fell asleep at the wheel or was playing with her phone- that's only my assumption. However, they said with the dash cam footage they could certainly look at pressing charges. It was my first ever car accident and hopefully the last. I'm just thankful that everyone was okay. More importantly, I just hope everyone watching the video is reminded how important it is to stay alert on the roads, never text and drive and always pull over if feeling tired".