Miracle Recovery After Bus Shelter Hor-ror: Gold Coast Man Wakes From Coma as He Reveals the Moment He Thought He Had D-i-ed
A Gold Coast man who almost lost his arm after a bus hit a shelter has woken from his coma.
Kris Williams, 42, was on his way home from work shortly before 5pm on Monday July 27 when he walked to the bus stop at West Burleigh.
In an online fundraiser, Mr Williams alleged the bus “did its usual three-point turn but this time at excessive turning speed ran into the bus stop”.
Kris Williams nearly had his arm torn off after a bus shelter collapsed in a crash. Picture: GoFundMe
The bus crashed into the shelter in late July. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass
The bus, which is operated by Translink and Kinetic, crashed into the structure, causing the shelter’s roof and brick wall to collapse on the Queensland man.
The man’s arm was nearly torn off by the impact of the crash, leaving him with bruises, a head injury, four broken ribs and a broken right scapula – also known as the shoulder blade.
“Great work by the paramedics who did fantastic work on the scene,” he said.
Mr Williams has since undergone an 12-hour surgery and was placed in a coma, as the medical team worked to reconnect his arm.
“Right arm was crushed and currently being rebuilt,” he said.
Kris was on his way home from work when the crash happened. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass
He has since woken from a coma and is on the long road to recovery. Picture: GoFundMe
Speaking to 7News, he said the incident was so traumatic he thought he wouldn’t make it.
“I really thought I was dead and that I’d woken up in some weird alternative universe,” he said.
He said while he’s undergone a marathon surgery, he is yet to regain feeling in parts of his body.
“I don’t have feeling in three out of five fingers,” he said.
“In the split second, everything was turned upside down and taken because of someone’s actions.”
Unable to walk and unsure if he’ll be able to return to walk, he has launched a GoFundMe to get back on his feet.
“Please donate to help me get through this,” he wrote in the fundraiser.
“There will be a lot of costs associated with this event.”
The Gold Coast City Council said the shelter would be repaired in the near future. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass
A Gold Coast City Council spokesperson told NewsWire that safety was its “number one priority” and had recently inspected the safety of the bus shelter.
“The City proactively inspects our 953 bus shelters to ensure they are safe and this shelter was last inspected last year with no maintenance actions identified,” they said.
“The City also has a program of bus stop upgrades which are prioritised around factors like usage, disability access and asset condition.
The council said the damaged shelter would be replaced “in the near future”.
“The City will continue to work with relevant stakeholders including Translink on matters related to our bus shelters,” they said.
