A Linton couple involved in a horse riding accident has thanked emergency crews after a week in which the Victorian public’s treatment of paramedics was thrust into the spotlight.
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Mark Lutnant and Deanne Jackel were riding on their farm when Mr Lutnant’s horse, Jasper, suddenly broke into a canter before kicking its back legs, throwing him onto the ground.
“He’s a big horse and with that kick Mark just went flying into the sky. It was shocking,” Ms Jackel said.
Mr Lutnant thumped onto the ground, writhing in agony and growing pale as he struggled to breathe.
Panicking, Ms Jackel dialled triple-0 and remained on the phone for the next 40 minutes until three road ambulances and a helicopter arrived.
“Those paramedics saved his life, because I don’t know what I would have done. I would have had to walk kilometres to try and get some help because it was just us two,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to leave him. I was concerned I would have to do CPR.
“I was amazed by triple-0 operator as well.
“The woman was fantastic. I was on the line to her for 40 minutes because they had to find us.”
Ms Jackel’s gratitude towards emergency workers in the Ballarat region follows a public outcry surrounding a County Court decision last week to allow two Melbourne women to avoid a mandatory six-month jail term for assaulting a paramedic.
She said she was “really impressed” with Ambulance Victoria crews on the day of the accident on May 13.
“They got out of the ambulance and went straight to Mark, asking ‘where are you, what’s your name and where does it hurt?’,” she said.
“He was then straight onto a stretcher and they were basically all over him, cutting his clothes off.”
Paramedics gave Mr Lutnant an ultrasound in the ambulance and found there was no major damage to his internal organs, choosing to take him by road to Ballarat Base Hospital as the helicopter travelled back to Melbourne.
He is now back on the farm recovering from a punctured lung and a broken rib.
“They did a fantastic job. It was very reassuring in the way they dealt with me,” he said.
“As soon as they got here it was good to know.”
Victorian police and ambulance unions are expected to meet Premier Daniel Andrews today, seeking to get their members an ironclad promise those who assault emergency services workers will be jailed.
The Police Association with Ambulance Employees Australia Victoria had previously written to Mr Andrews.
- with AAP