[kellyhound]

An elderly man who lost his leg in a fatal crash caused by a learner driver says the young woman who died in the collision saved his life.

Fashion student Emma Hansen, 20, died and 11 others were injured when learner driver Rose Deng mistook the accelerator for the brake during a driving lesson at Kogarah, in Sydney's south, in March last year.


Her car mounted the kerb at Railway Parade and slammed into a bus queue.

A charge of negligent driving occasioning death against Ms Deng, 42, was conditionally dismissed in January this year under the Mental Health Act.

On his way to the nearby ANZ Bank, Nabil Sherro, 77, noticed Ms Hansen walking behind him as she smiled at him.


Without any warning or screeching of tyres, there was a sudden impact that sounded like an explosion, the former naval officer said.

"Both of us were in the air and the next thing I was on the floor on my face," Mr Sherro told a coronial inquest into Ms Hansen's death at Glebe Coroner's Court today.

Mr Sherro said that at some point, Ms Hansen shoved him out of the way, saving him from the worst impact of the car.

"I think the late Emma saved my life," he told Deputy State Coroner Malcolm MacPherson.

"Something gave me a nudge or pushed me away - whether that was deliberate or not, I don't know."

Outside the court, Mr Sherro said he would always remember the "very attractive young lady" who saved him.

"Whenever I close my eyes, and I remember the accident ... I remember her, because the last thing I saw before the accident was her smile," he told reporters.

"She was smiling, looking at me and in seconds ... [she was dead]."


"How can you explain to me, what is the wisdom of taking a young girl of 20 years of age and leaving an old man like me?"

Mr Sherro's left leg was severely fractured in the incident with his bone protruding through the skin.

It had to be amputated below the knee and now he cannot walk more than 50 metres or stand for more than five minutes.

When he does walk, he does so with the aid of a stick and a walking frame.

He said he felt sad for the loss of Ms Hansen, angry about his own injuries and angry that a learner driver should have been allowed to practise on busy city streets.

The supervising passenger of Ms Deng today called for all instructors to learn methods to quickly stop a car that veers out of control.

John Tittmarsh, who was supervising Ms Deng during the accident, told the inquest that he has tried to block out the accident that killed Ms Hansen.

He told police after the incident that he had tried to turn off the ignition but was unable to reach the key.

It was a matter of seconds, he said, between the time that he corrected Ms Deng's steering and alarmed her into pressing the accelerator mounting the kerb and ploughing into 12 pedestrians.

Mr Tittmarsh today said that he could not remember how the car eventually stopped, some 45 metres down the road.

"I'm not sure if stalled, or if I finally reached over to the ignition and pulled the handbrake on," Mr Tittmarsh told the inquest.

"I would like to think [I had pulled on the handbrakes] but I can't really be sure."

Yesterday, a police crash investigator said the best way to stop the car would have been to knock the car into neutral and pull on the handbrake. Pulling on the handbrake without first putting the vehicle into neutral would have caused the car to fishtail.


A visibly upset Mr Tittmarsh agreed he could have managed that sort of reaction if it had occurred to him in time.

Ms Deng's barrister, Mark Ierace, SC, asked whether drivers should be made aware of that procedure.

Mr Tittmarsh replied: "Yes, after that experience, I believe it should be compulsory. If anything could be done to prevent this happening to someone else, it should be."

However, the deputy coroner overseeing the inquest, Malcolm Macpherson, said it was unlikely he would make any recommendations regarding learner driver supervision because that was not a relevant factor in the crash.

[bluucrayonz]

what a fuckin dumb truck..

[DonCorleone]

Holy shit, thats scary.. She looks just like my friend

[huskie]

This happened in Sydney Australia. See how many people ran to help. Not like in some of the videos you see on this site where people just stand around with their hands on their dicks.

[DanlBoone]

yeah, in good ol Sydney, where they still have some humanity. Here in the U.S.,even people in small towns could give a rats ass about anyone but themselves. I hate it here anymore!

[Maneater]

Does anyone know if the babies were ok in the strollers?? One looked like it took a direct hit.

[ZACKSMILL]

Originally Posted by DanlBoone ↗

yeah, in good ol Sydney, where they still have some humanity. Here in the U.S.,even people in small towns could give a rats ass about anyone but themselves. I hate it here anymore!

I live in a small town and everyone helps everyone else out. Maybe it's just that no one wants to help out an idiot like yourself.

[bipolar]

God i hope those kids by some miracle were safe and sound.

[dayward1]

It looked like most of the people in the bank were Filipino immigrants, and not native Australians, that's why they appeared to be helping, until around the 2:20 mark the cam shows a white lady and an Indian lady picking up cash and cell phones and stuffing them in their bags! HaHa...POHMS. And the driver was even Filipina from the name. A 42 year old learner? Either the driver was fresh off the boat, or she is a really bad driver.
Tough break for the kiddos in the strollers though.

[alpha.first.one]

fuck you aus