A grey nomad couple are being hailed as heroes after pulling a police officer from a horrific single vehicle crash in isolated Gulf country.
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A week ago, Doomadgee-based Police Officer Stephanie Tyler sustained severe injuries in a car crash on the isolated Wills Developmental Road halfway between Doomadgee and Mount Isa.
The vehicle rolled about seven times landing in grass which caught fire.
Townsville Police Shift Supervisor Betty Hamoud said Ms Tyler, who has worked at Doomadgee for nearly three years, was heading out on holidays at the time, driving in her own vehicle to Mount Isa.
“Her plan was to fly to Brisbane to see Pink in concert,” Sgt Hamoud said.
First on the scene were grey nomads Robert and Amanda Boswell.
“They had pulled over to swap drivers when they noticed a bit of smoke up ahead,” Sgt Hamoud said.
“When they got there they saw the rollover and a grass fire behind the vehicle.”
The couple’s attempts to retrieve Ms Tyler from the vehicle were thwarted as she was unable to move due to the pain.
“My right arm was like spaghetti,” Ms Tyler later told police.
Mr Boswell, who was concerned about the fire, managed to pull her out of the vehicle and gave her his thongs so she wouldn’t have to walk on the glass shards surrounding the vehicle.
A truck driver also pulled over to assist in providing as much relief to Ms Tyler as possible.
Sgt Hamoud said the truck driver has remained anonymous.
“No-one knows his name or who he was but he knelt down beside her and held her arm in an improvised sling for hours,” Sgt Hamoud said.
“The truck driver deserves significant commendation based on what the Boswells said.”
All three humble heroes waited with Ms Tyler for nearly two hours it took for the Royal Flying Doctors Service and Queensland Ambulance Service to arrive.
Sgt Hamoud said the couple did not have a satellite phone but they were lucky with where the accident occurred.
“For a road with no reception, it was a stroke of luck the area had enough reception to call 000,” she said.
“Mrs Boswell never left her side even though she copped a lot of abuse from our Steph (Officer Tyler) but she was like a true mother to her.
“She kept the flies off her face and kept Steph distracted and focused.”
Ms Tyler was airlifted to Mount Isa Base Hospital before being transferred to Townsville on Saturday morning with a severely broken arm, several cuts and bruising.
She was discharged from Townsville Hospital on Thursday, August 16.
