Matthew Field, Kate Leadbetter and their unborn son Miles were killed when they were struck by a stolen car that sped through a red light while the couple was walking dogs in Alexandra Hills on January 26, 2021.
The car was driven by a 17-year-old boy who was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and several other charges.
A car being driven by the other victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was also struck by the stolen four-wheel-drive, with the impact causing permanent and debilitating pain.
“I went from being a happy, pretty healthy mum, being very hands-on … to not being able to pick up my child anymore, to dropping things, forgetting things,” the 35-year-old told 9News in an exclusive interview.
“I was stationary in my car and was hit head-on by the stolen vehicle.
“From what I understand, if I’d been a couple of centimetres further up the road I wouldn’t have survived, just from the velocity of the impact.”
She said her injuries had been completely life-altering.
”There’s constant pain.
“I have nerve damage through the right side of my body and damage to my spine in three places.
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“It’s almost been three years and I’m up to surgery number four on my back.”
The victim spoke to 9News the day after her latest surgery, where doctors implanted a device that sends little electric pulses into the spinal cord, to intercept pain signals before they reach her brain.
It won’t fix the damage and is purely to manage the pain – and there are no guarantees it will work.
“It is really unfair and I hate to say that because in comparison to families that lose their children … that’s not fair,” she said.
“I’ve had times where I’ve had to call my boss the morning before I’ve had to go to work and just say I can’t come in today.
“I just can’t physically or mentally and that’s really hard.”
She believes between the loss of wages, leave and medical bills, the crash has cost her at least $40,000.
