Lucky escape: Louise Hine at the intersection where she was hit by a car. Picture: Lisa McMahon
EARLY morning jogger Louise Hine is a familiar sight on the streets of Engadine.
"I have been running every morning for several years and people are always telling me where they saw me," said Mrs Hine, 53, a mother of two.
But her fitness regime could have cost her life when she was hit by a car at the corner of Anzac Road and Tobruk Avenue at 7.45am on Tuesday, June 26.
She used the Leader letters pages last week to thank an off-duty paramedic and nurse who came to her aid. She also sought witnesses to the accident.
The car hit her as it turned left into bumper-to-bumper traffic on Anzac Avenue after being "waved in" by another motorist.
Mrs Hine, who was running west on the footpath in Anzac Avenue, said when she first saw the car approaching the intersection, she jogged on the spot to check what it was doing.
When it appeared to wait for her, she began to cross in front of it and was shocked when the engine suddenly revved and the vehicle began to move.
"I screamed and put my hands out on the bonnet, but it accelerated and hit me," she said.
Mrs Hine flew into the air over the bonnet and landed face down on the road.
"When I was in the air, I thought I was dead," she said.
Mrs Hine suffered face and leg injuries. She was rushed by ambulance to the trauma unit at St George Hospital, but was released later that day.
"It could have been a lot worse and I am extremely grateful to the paramedic, who was on his way to work at Caringbah, and also to the off-duty nurse who helped me," she said.
"But it will still cost me about $20,000 in medical and dental costs and lost wages."
Mrs Hine said she hoped to recover some of the expenses through motor vehicle compulsory third party insurance, but insurance company QBE had not yet admitted liability.
"That's why I am seeking witnesses," she said.
"The best person would be the driver who waved in the car which hit me, but if anyone else saw what happened I hope they will contact Sutherland police."
Do you remember the accident?