Great Moments in Car Repair

Northern Territory News (Australia), March 8, 2005 Tuesday
Trapped Man Lifts Car Off His Head, By Greg McLean

A man told last night how he lifted a half-tonne car off his head with one hand.

Paul Betteley, 28, was trapped underneath his Datsun Stanza when his eight-month-old terrier pup A.D. knocked a jack over and the car fell on top of him.

"I thought my number was up," he said.

Mr Betteley suffered serious head injuries when his jaw and cheekbone were pushed into his skull.

He was changing the car's oil at his property at Adelaide River, 110km south of Darwin, early on Saturday morning when the accident happened.

"I heard the crunch of my face crushing inwards and I knew no one was going to come to rescue me at six in the morning," he said.

"I've heard stories of people pulling cars off themselves before -- it's amazing what adrenaline can do.

"The car chassis fell across my chest and face and after a couple of seconds I decided the only way I was going to get out was if I did it myself.

"I used one hand to lift the car and with my free hand I grabbed the side of the house and pulled myself out.

"I was surprised how easily I could do it with the adrenaline pumping, but there was a risk the car would fall on me a second time. Once I was out I went inside the house.

"I thought I was going to collapse on the lounge and die there.

"Even when I knew I wasn't going to die I was worried about a permanent brain injury because I heard the side of my face crack when it happened.

"It just goes to show how bloody lucky people can be.

"I didn't know my head was that hard."

A friend who was asleep inside Mr Betteley's house called an ambulance, which was given a police escort to east Adelaide River. "I thought I might be in trouble when the ambulance officer went 'Oooh' when he first saw me," Mr Betteley said.

"A policeman drove the ambulance back to Darwin so both paramedics could monitor me."

Mr Bettely spent two days in the high-dependency unit at Royal Darwin Hospital under close watch before being shifted to a ward yesterday.

Surgeons will operate on him today to try to repair his cheek and jawbone and insert metal plates into his head.

But Mr Betteley remains optimistic.

"There's no hard feelings against A.D.," he said.

"As soon as I get out of hospital I'm going to buy a lottery ticket."