"I should be dead": councillor

Bunbury city councillor Michelle Steck says angels were looking after her last Thursday when she was t-boned in her BMW on Raymond Road in Roelands.

“A few seconds down the road and I would have been hit on my driver’s-side door and I would have been gone,” she said.

“I’m very lucky to be alive, I should be dead.

“You don’t realise, in a split second your whole life can change.”

Cr Steck was turning onto Raymond Road when she was hit by a utility travelling about 100kmh.

She said she turned onto the road thinking it had been blocked off by police who were attending a separate car crash and she did not expect another car on the road.

Her BMW 320i, less than a year old, is a write-off.

“It bloody hurt, I couldn’t breathe and there was the smoulder and smoke, powder dust from the airbags,” she said.

“I couldn’t open the door and I couldn’t get out — I was in shock.”

The mother-of-five said she was grateful to those who came to her aid in the minutes after the crash.

“The beautiful part of it is everyone is so kind and concerned about everyone else,” she said.

“I was feeling really vulnerable and these people were there to help – you can’t imagine how grateful I am.

“The community spirit, the great Aussie spirit, is alive and well.”

Cr Steck said she was also thankful she was wearing her Saint Christopher charm, the patron saint of travellers.

She cautioned motorists to take care on the roads over the holiday season when emotions run high.

“Festive activities can also be sad activities for people and I know that because Friday is the anniversary of my daughter Kelly’s death,” she said.

“Accidents just bring those emotions to the fore.”