HIT AND RUN SHOCKS PETE

Modest local water-skiing champion and business owner Pete O’Neill has had many hard hits and injuries in his career on the water, but his most recent injury is one that no one expected.

Last Wednesday night at around 7.45pm on his daily walk near Romney St in Mulwala, Pete was hit by a car with the driver not stopping to check on his welfare.

Luckily Pete only suffered concussion and some decent bruising, but things could have been much worse.

“Due to the number of years I have been water skiing, I have a hip issue complaint so after work and all the odd jobs I go for a daily walk,” Pete said.

“I left the house around 7.40 – 7.45pm. I was heading north about 500 meters from the industrial estate and was walking with the traffic.

“I can remember the lights coming up behind me on my back, so I moved across and remember walking on the grass.

“Next thing I know I am waking up on the ground with one of my shoes about 20 feet away from me and one of my earphones gone.

“I realised then that I had been hit by a car which had knocked me out, but the driver didn’t stop.

“It was dark , but I was off the road and although I don’t think there was any malice, they did leave me knocked out on the side of the road.

“I’m pretty hazy on everything but when I came to, I called my brother and he came to get me and took me to hospital.

“I have memory of being in trouble and I remember knowing my brother was coming to get me, but I can’t remember ringing him.

“I can work out the times because just before I left, I sent a text then when I came to I rang my brother so there was about a 12 minute difference and I was only a couple of hundred metres away from home so I had been lying there for a few minutes.

“People fly down this stretch often and some of my neighbours said they had heard people hooning down there that night doing anywhere between 50 – 70km an hour at times.”

Pete knows he was lucky but believes he may have built up some sort of resilience to such hits after years as a professional water-skier.

“I’ve hit barefoot jumps and ski jumps… and they were harder hits, but that was my choice,” Pete said.

“I have some decent bruises on my leg where I think the car hit me and some skin off my elbow, face and knee from I assume rolling on the road.

“I also have a knock on the very top of my head which worryingly makes think I flipped over but now the concussion has passed I am fine just rattled and sore. Weirdly I have been hit harder than this.

“The police came and took a statement but said nothing would be done with it for a week so I’m not sure we will figure out who hit me.

“My brother stayed the night with me that night as I had had a concussion and then a mate stayed with me on the Thursday night but now I am fine.”

The night after the incident, Pete posted something to his personal Facebook as well as the Yarrawonga and surrounds noticeboard, asking people to keep a look out for a car with damage to the passenger side.

“I did post something on Facebook which I now regret a bit because everyone has then become so worried about me but someone in town must have a busted front on the passenger side of their car and it’s not a big town,” Pete said.

“A number of people asked if anyone along there would have CCTV and would have caught the incident but in the spot where it happened, there is no houses around that would have CCTV that would catch it.

“It was also strange the next day to go back and know exactly where it happened as I had lost one of my earphones and the find my device took me to where it was lost.”

As those who know Pete would tell you, he is a modest man who is reluctant to take accolades and does not like to cause trouble, however you would not blame him for being angry at the situation he has found himself in. Although surprisingly, he is not.

“I am not angry; I’m amazed that I’m still here and that I didn’t have worse injuries but, I just want to know why they didn’t stop,” Pete said.

“I really did get lucky.”