Ambulance report contradicts Daniel Andrews’ car crash statement
A newly discovered ambulance report has contradicted Daniel Andrews’ statement about a 2013 car accident on the Mornington Peninsula that almost killed a teenager.
The Victorian premier was being driven by his wife Catherine in their family Ford Territory when it collided with a bike being ridden by 15-year-old Ryan Meuleman.
The incident occurred near the Melbourne Rd and Ridley St intersection in Blairgowrie around 1:30pm on January 7, 2013.
Meuleman suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, internal bleeding and was left with just 10 per cent of his spleen. He was in The Royal Children’s Hospital for 11 days.
Mrs Andrews wasn’t breathalysed following the accident, and the teen wasn’t given a chance to give a statement to police.
Mr Andrews and his wife have held up their claims that Mueleman was at fault as the premier told reporters in 2017 that the teen was “moving at speed” when he “absolutely T-boned the car”.
However, a document obtained by the Herald Sun, put together by Ambulance Victoria paramedics who were present at the scene, challenges the couple’s claims that they came to a “complete stop” and “turned right from a stationary position” moments before the collision.
The “Patient Care Report” reads, 15YO on bike. Struck on L side by car travelling 40 to 60kmh … PT onto bonnet, then onto windscreen which cracked on impact … thrown onto roadway.”
The document has only now been uncovered as Mr Mueleman, now 25, has escalated legal action.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, barrister Daryl Dealehr said, “The serious injuries to the left side of Ryan’s body and the observations made by the ambulance officers who attended the crash are completely inconsistent with the claims to police made by Mr Andrews and his wife that their vehicle was travelling at a low speed,”
“The evidence appears completely at odds with what Daniel and Catherine Andrews have been claiming since the collision.”
The outlet reported in late 2022, before the November state election, that Meuleman had contacted lawyers to re-examine the accident and the circumstances surrounding the investigation and legal settlement that followed.
The ambulance report was not in the files that were originally handed over by law firm Slater & Gordon.
According to the Herald Sun, The Meuelemans are seeking pre-trial discovery against the law firm and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in an attempt to uncover any further “missing” documents.
After the accident, Mueleman was paid $80,000 by the TAC, though his family have raised “concerns” over the proceedings.
The teen’s parents insist they never engaged Slater & Gordon, a Labor-aligned law firm, to represent their son while the firm refuses to reveal what led to its involvement.
“I hadn’t seen this report until a week ago,” Mueleman told the Herald Sun.
“The lawyers never showed it to me. They just told me to agree to the deal and kind of, you know, shut up. I was 15 years old, mate. I was a kid. Seriously, I was 15. I am pretty blown away to be honest. I just wish I had it to show everyone 10 years ago. It would have changed everything. People would have known that they hit me, not the other way around.”
In 2017, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission examined the police response to the crash, including failing to use a breathalyser after the crash.
Mr Andrews and his wife were not formally interviewed until nearly a month after the incident.
In November 2017, uncovered police photographs obtained by the
saw the extent of damage to the vehicle.
In his signed statement on February 2013, the Premier said, “We had turned right from a stationary position into Ridley St. Moments after we turned, a cyclist collided heavily with the side of our vehicle … the cyclist was travelling at speed and hit our car at a perfect right angle very heavily. I want to make it clear — the cyclist hit our vehicle.”
In the statement, Mrs Andrews said, “I turned from Melbourne Rd after coming to a complete stop … just after we turned into Ridley St our car was struck heavily on the front driver’s side by a cyclist who it seems was attempting to cross Ridley St at speed from the bike path.”
In a press conference in November, shortly after Mr Mueleman's new claims were revealed, Mr Andrew rejected several questions from reporters.
“I’ve got nothing further to say,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Premier said that the matter had been "dealt with" by Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos at a press conference that morning.
“This is over a decade old,” Mr Dimopoulos told reporters.
“The most appropriate authorities have investigated this thoroughly and have made no adverse findings. Beyond that, the Premier himself has answered questions on this almost as many times as he’s answered questions on Covid. This has been thoroughly examined and I really don’t have any more to say.”
Image credit: Getty