Sydney father lucky to be alive after loose toolbox smashes his car on motorway
A Sydney father has become the latest victim of an unsecured load as a toolbox flew off the back of a ute causing him to crash.
Stuart Lane, from Panania in the city’s south-west, was travelling at 100 km/hour along the M5 motorway when out of nowhere a toolbox dislodged from the tray of the vehicle in front.
A hammer, wrench and other tools flying like shrapnel caused Mr Lane to lose control of his car, slamming into the concrete barrier then flipping.
“Everything was in slow-mo, everything just went really slow,” Mr Lane said.
“Yeah it was a bit of, ‘am I going to be alright’?”
The crash ended with Mr Lane dangling upside down in his vehicle, thinking of his pregnant wife and two children at home.
Police said Mr Lane is extremely lucky to be alive.
“Words escape me. It could have been a fatal crash, he could have lost his life,” Chief Inspector Bill Darnell said.
University professor Dr Michael De Percy captured the moment of impact on his dashcam, as his own windscreen was cracked by debris from the toolbox.
Dr De Percy has released the footage as a warning for drivers to secure their loads.
“When he was upside down, there was a semi-trailer that drove straight past, it must have missed him by about an inch,” Dr De Percy said.
“Thank goodness that truck didn’t hit Stuart’s ute and everyone was okay.”
More than 3000 drivers have been fined for unsecured loads in the past year alone.
The driver whose toolbox caused Mr Lane’s serious accident was cleared by police.
However, officers are investigating the business where his toolbox was professionally fitted.
Who has right of way when the lanes merge?
“There doesn’t seem to be any sort of regulation or rules or qualification around fitting out light commercial vehicles,” Dr De Percy said.
