It was no ordinary sunrise – and the dawning of a day Kenny Green will never forget.
When Kenny regained consciousness at 5.30am, he was shocked to find himself pinned beneath a bus – the bus that just moments before had been carrying him and 16-fellow passengers along a remote Northern Territory highway to Darwin.
Pinned under a bus – in a sodden roadside culvert – 122 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
“I heard people saying ‘I think he’s alive’, and I then I realised they were talking about me! They tried to dig me out – but they couldn’t. I had to wait there for hours”, says Kenny.
Just before the accident, a string of torrential storms had swept through the region, spilling water across the road. The large bus had lost grip on the treacherous surface and rolled, coming to rest on its side just metres from Tomkinson Creek, its large trailer tossed to-and-fro behind.
“I remember the bus was shaking and the driver was trying to get it back straight on the road – then it all went black.”
A truck driver who stumbled across the horrific scene frantically tried to jack the bus up to free Kenny, but the soaked ground would not hold the weight. It was clear more help was needed.
The truck driver activated his emergency beacon, and the signal alerted Tennant Creek Police to the cry for help. Soon after, police, together with ambulance, fire and NT Emergency Services crews from Tennant Creek and Elliott converged on the scene.
Following a speedy search to locate the nearest crane, the bus was lifted away from Kenny and ambulance crews were finally able to fully assess his condition. They found he had suffered chest injuries and there was concern about possible damage to Kenny’s spine.
Whilst this activity was happening at the scene, the nearest airstrip had been identified (Bootu Creek) and a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) aircraft flown in to await the arrival of patients needing urgent transfer. A second RFDS aircraft and crew remained on standby at the Alice Springs RFDS Base in case they was also required.
An ambulance carried the critically-injured Kenny and two other injured passengers to Bootu Creek and the RFDS aero medical crew evacuated them to Alice Springs Hospital for further assessment and treatment.
“I was so relieved to be in the plane”, Kenny says. “I was in a lot of pain and the RFDS staff looked after me. It was so comforting to have a doctor by my side. It wasn’t long before we landed in Alice Springs.”
RFDS crews later transferred another 3 patients, including a child, from Tennant Creek Hospital to Alice Springs Hospital for higher levels of medical treatment. Of the seventeen passengers on the bus that day, six required aero medical evacuation by RFDS crews.
But Kenny was to meet the ‘Flying Doctor’ again. A few days later he was flown from Alice Springs to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for surgery to repair a damaged eye socket with bone from his hip, with many new stitches a fresh reminder of his ordeal, trapped and hurt on the side of an outback road.
“Here’s what I know now”, Kenny reflects. “I am fortunate to be alive and I am lucky to be walking. It would have been horrific to try to travel to more medical help by road. The RFDS staff were fantastic, and I really want to thank the Service and their crews for all their help.”
