- In short: A woman who spent two of the coldest nights in recent weeks stuck in a blackberry bush was lucky to be spotted and rescued by a firefighter who was driving by the site of her crashed car.
- What's next: The woman's rescuer is hoping to catch up with her and check how her recovery is going.
A 73-year-old Tasmanian woman who spent two freezing nights trapped alone in a blackberry bush on the side of a road after leaving her crashed car is a "very tough lady", her rescuer says.
After a weekend that featured some of the coldest nights in Tasmania in recent weeks, thanks to polar winds, Tasmania Fire Service officer Brendon Burridge made the discovery while driving to Ouse, in the state's Central Highlands.
The firefighter had already unknowingly driven past the crash site once on Monday morning, but it was the second time he came back that he spotted something.
"I'd already gone through there an hour before in the other truck I was taking up and didn't see a thing," he said.
"But when I was coming up the other way, in a bit bigger truck, I was sort of looking down and over the bank and I thought, 'Oh there's a car over there.'"
Mr Burridge did not notice any emergency tape on the car — the usual sign that a car had been left temporarily after a crash — and something made him stop.
"I saw a light on in the car, like a tail light, so I pulled up [on] this narrow piece of road, put the lights on in the truck and walked back up the road and towards the car," he said.
When he got closer, he could hear a sound coming from thorny blackberry bushes near the car and realised there was a woman injured nearby.
"I thought it was a cat first off … but as I got closer I realised it was someone calling out for help," he said.
"I busted my way down [into the bush] and came across a lady who was laying down in a drain amongst all the blackberries."
'She didn't look very well'
Mr Burridge told the woman he was going to get some blankets and a first aid kit from his truck.
"She appeared terribly cold and she didn't look very well," he said.
"I started to give her a little sip of water and ask her who she was and tried to go back up to the truck once I got a blanket on her and tried to get her some additional resources on the way to help me."
The woman told Mr Burridge she had been stuck in the bush since Saturday afternoon — two nights ago.
The closest weather station recorded bone-chilling overnight temperatures of 0.2 degrees Celsius and -4.8C over those two nights.
The woman, from Seven Mile Beach, said she was on her way to visit a friend who lived in Hamilton, a small rural town just 20 minutes away from where she was found.
The woman said after the crash she attempted to get out of the vehicle but became disoriented and stuck in the bushes.
"Because she's an elderly lady she struggled with the blackberries, which are really unforgiving. Even I struggled to get down to her — it probably took 10 minutes to get down to her," Mr Burridge said.
He said he initially used a pair of first-aid scissors to try to cut her free.
"She had a few [blackberry thorns] embedded in the back of her head," he said.
"She's a very tough lady to survive out there on probably two of the coldest nights that we've had this year with very little clothing and no footwear either. Very lucky."
Mr Burridge said he was grateful he had the training and equipment to be able to assist.
Woman swerved to avoid animal
Police said initial investigations indicated the woman had swerved to avoid wildlife on the road and lost control of her car.
After Mr Burridge called emergency services, the woman was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.
In a statement, Tasmania Police described it as a "great outcome that the woman was found, especially considering the weather conditions over the [previous] two days".
Rescuer hoping for reunion
Mr Burridge has been in the fire service for more than three decades and has come across a fair share of accidents.
"We've had a few little jobs over the years that have been similar but that [situation] is probably the worst that's come along," he said.
He has not yet spoken to the woman to see how she is doing — but hopes to get in touch in the coming days.
"Just to touch base and check that she's OK," he said.
"I'd like to tell her she's pretty tough."
