A brave mother and her teenage daughters have confronted the man who changed the course of their lives forever after they were plowed into their car drunk behind the wheel.
Leanne Tyrrell-Raddatz and her daughters Lola and Phoebe, ages 15 and 18, were traumatized after a horrific car accident on February 6, 2021.
The trio were driving in Buccan, in Logan, Queensland, when Bryce Print entered the wrong lane and collided head-on with their vehicle.
The 35-year-old trader had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.190 when he was tested by police who found empty beer bottles on the floor of his car.
Print pleaded guilty last week to one count of dangerously driving a vehicle resulting in death or grievous bodily injury while under the influence of an intoxicating substance and one count of driving under the influence of liquor.
Print was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, suspended after 18 months, while his driver’s license was suspended for five months.
Leanne Tyrrell-Raddatz and her daughters Lola and Phoebe, ages 15 and 18, were traumatized after a horrific car accident on February 6, 2021
The trio were driving in Buccan, in Logan, Queensland, when Bryce Print pulled into the wrong lane and collided head-on with their vehicle (pictured is Leanne’s car after the crash)
Mrs. Tyrell-Raddatz and her daughters had the opportunity to speak directly to the pool finisher at Beenleigh District Court.
The women each read an emotional victim impact statement, saying they would carry the trauma of the crash for the rest of their lives.
Lola, who was only 13 years old, said she was still recovering from the moment she looked at the driver’s seat and thought her mother was dead. Courier Mail reported.
“My mother was pinned under the wheel, completely crushed. I thought my mother was dead,” she said.
“I lost my mother that day. How can I undo that?’
The teen said that after hearing her sister cry in pain and blood “flowing” from her nose and mouth, she was forced to grow up too quickly.
Her older sister Phoebe, who was 15 years old at the time, told the court she feared her injuries would make her miss out on the military.
Phoebe, age 18, broke her femur and wrist in the impact and underwent four surgeries
Ms. Tyrell-Raddatz underwent more than three times as many surgeries as her daughters, undergoing a total of 15 surgeries and spending four months in the hospital
Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz (pictured) said after the moment of the impact she ‘began to float towards the white light four times’ and heard the jaws of life next to her head
She broke her femur and wrist in the impact and underwent four surgeries.
Their mother underwent more than three times as many surgeries as she did, undergoing a total of 15 surgeries and spending four months in the hospital.
Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz said that after the moment of the impact she “began to float towards the white light four times” and heard the jaws of life next to her head.
“I was slumped over the steering wheel with blood coming out of my nose and mouth, I couldn’t breathe,” she said in her statement.
“Right at that moment I thought I was going to die. I thought this was it for me and I thought I would leave this world and never see my daughters grow up.
“From that day on, my life has been hell.”
The mother-of-two said she had been alone in hospital because of the pandemic and had suicidal thoughts and “just wanted to die.”
Pictured is Phoebe and her mother before going to collect Lola from a birthday party, with the devastating accident as they drove home on February 6, 2021.
The mother-of-two said she had been alone in hospital because of the pandemic and had suicidal thoughts and ‘just wanted to die’
Two years later, she still feels the effects of the crash, both physically and emotionally.
“I can’t bend my knee all the way, my arms are full of metal, I have a broken pelvis, it affects my intimate life, my personal life, my working life,” she said.
Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz said she felt sorry for Price despite her family’s pain.
“He obviously suffers from depression himself and has struggled with alcoholism for a long time.”
“But he chose to drink and drive that day and changed our lives forever.”