HOPES are high that surgeons from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne have been able to save the leg of a teenage girl who suffered horrific injuries in a boating accident at Bundalong on Friday evening.
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Denique Peace, from Boosey, was wakeboarding with friends when she was struck by the boat and the propeller severed her leg.
The accident happened when Denique fell from the wakeboard and the boat turned back to collect her. The boat became stuck on a mud bank just below the surface.
As the driver attempted to free the boat, it suddenly broke free and accelerated, running over the girl.
Bundalong resident, and former Border Mail and Yarrawonga Chronicle employee, Peter Elliott, said everyone was in shock after the accident.
Mr Elliott’s daughter Olivia, 15, was one of the four girls on the boat enjoying an evening of wakeboarding as part of a birthday celebration.
Olivia said the accident happened on the last run of the day.
“When Denique fell off we decided to pick her up and head back to the boat ramp, but the boat ran onto the mud bank,” she said.
“The driver was trying to get free, the boat was rocking and revving. It was mad. Suddenly we broke free and the boat accelerated and she was right in front of us.”
Olivia said everyone was trying to help Denique when they heard another boat coming.
“I screamed to them to help us and they came straight over,” she said.
“One of the women was a nurse and she was a tremendous help.
“We had to drive back to the boat ramp, which was about a kilometre away, and wait for the ambulance and then the rescue helicopter to arrive.”
As Denique was treated by paramedics, Olivia sat with her friend, talking to her and keeping her awake.
Denique was taken by the rescue helicopter to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where surgeons undertook a marathon operation to re-attach her leg.
Mr Elliott told The Border Mail they had been informed the operation started about midnight on Friday, with Denique coming out of surgery about 3pm on Saturday.
He said the latest information they had last night was the operation appeared to be a success, although it would still be some time before a final result was known.
“We have been told the leg is pink, which means blood has begun to flow through it,” he said.
Yarrawonga’s Sacred Heart College yesterday offered counselling to Denique’s friends.
Police said the boat’s driver was a man, 45, and the boat was taken by Albury police for a mechanical inspection.
Police yesterday said the investigation was ongoing.
