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A former flight attendant has revealed the terrifying moment her car went airborne after hitting a concrete curb on the highway at 110 km per hour, and how her training in air emergencies saved her life.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Lee Holmes, who left life in the sky to become a nutritionist, described the terrifying moment her car bounced through the air before crashing into the bushes on the side of the road, landing on her roof.
‘I was crushed inside. When I came to, I saw what I thought was steam or smoke coming out of the car, so my flight attendant training kicked in and I went into flight attendant mode,” he said from his hospital bed Thursday.
The 55-year-old Sydney-based nutritionist, who has 57,000 followers on Instagram, was running errands and borrowed a friend’s car while visiting Byron Bay when she crashed on Tuesday.
She says her seat belt saved her life.
Lee had gone to the dentist to have a pair of “broken temporary teeth” fixed, which required numbing medication and then waited an hour for it to “wear off” before driving again.
It was heading inland from Mullumbimby at 110 km per hour, the legal speed limit, when it crashed.
Lee Holmes is counting his blessings after being in a freak car accident on January 24 (pictured at the hospital after the accident). Miraculously no bones were broken.
The vehicle ‘broke through a concrete bollard and then bounced’ in the air, hitting several trees and flipping over before coming to a stop.
‘I was crushed inside. When I came to, I saw what I thought was steam or smoke coming out of the car, so my flight attendant training kicked in and I went into flight attendant mode,” Lee told FEMAIL.
“I was driving and the next thing I remember was big trees and bushes whistling past me, it sounded a bit like nails on a blackboard with the branches scratching and scratching at the car windows,” Lee said.
Moments later, he remembers seeing a white tunnel, but he can’t confirm when it happened or if the car was no longer moving.
‘It was only a couple of seconds after that, when everything went eerily quiet and my eyes seemed to fix on a white tunnel up ahead. I remember him being bright and illuminating and calling. At that moment I felt a usual sense of calm and peace come over me, it was not scary, more cozy and familiar, ”she said.
Police officers and an ambulance arrived at the scene and took Lee to Tweed Hospital. ‘I could hear the murmur of voices going in and out of my head. I remember the police officer and the doctors saying that she was lucky to be alive and the fact that she wore a seatbelt had saved me,” she said.
When he regained consciousness, he had to quickly focus his vision on the upside-down car, and his survival instincts kicked in.
“I unbuckled my seatbelt and somehow checked my body for blood or injuries. I realized that she was still alive and I looked around for a way out, ”she said.
“That’s when I started to panic, but luckily I noticed a slightly open window that I was able to crawl through.”
“I’m still very shaken up, but it’s an absolute miracle that I survived and am alive to tell this story,” she said (pictured months before the accident).
With shaky legs like jelly, she stood up and started to walk, then she saw a lady walking towards her and asked if she was alright.
“I think I said okay and managed to drag myself towards the road, but then my legs started to give out and I said no, I don’t think it’s okay actually.” It was at that moment that I fell to the ground and I just needed to lie down,” she said.
Police officers and an ambulance arrived at the scene and took Lee to Tweed Hospital.
‘I could hear the murmur of voices going in and out of my head. I remember the police officer and the doctors saying that I was lucky to be alive and the fact that I was wearing a seat belt had saved me,” she said.
On the morning of the day of the accident, Lee had started her morning with a prayer of gratitude for being alive, which she finds incredibly ‘surreal’ (pictured before the accident)
Doctors were in immediate attendance to assess whether Lee had any critical injuries.
“At the hospital they put me on a big table and I could hear six people checking all the different areas of my body and pointing to them… ankles, check, knees, check,” he continued.
“I heard someone say they would have to take my clothes off, I felt like I was watching myself on a police show.”
Miraculously, Lee had no broken bones, but sustains a sternum and clavicle injury as well as soft tissue injuries.
“I’m still very shaken up, but it’s an absolute miracle that I survived and am alive to tell this story,” she said.
On the morning of the day of the accident, Lee had started her morning with a prayer of gratitude for being alive, which she finds incredibly ‘surreal’.