There’s a broad smile on Daniel Woolley’s face as he sits behind the steering wheel of his car, a result of an inspirational journey he now shares with others in an effort to save lives.
The Angaston father of five, took the privilege of driving for granted, right up until Good Friday, 2017 when what he says was “his own stupidity” led him to drive through a give way sign and be T-boned by another vehicle, leaving him with horrific brain injuries that changed his life forever.
“It was my mistake,” Daniel said, describing how he still has no memory of the crash, nor the 3 months before or after.
“When my car was hit, it flipped over. I don’t know how many times,” Daniel said.
“Whilst my car was rolling my brain got shaken up...it had bleeds all over the outside and bleeds all through it.
“My brain injury is one of the worst brain injuries you can get.”
His parents, Mary and Tony compiled a booklet from his four month stay at Hampstead, with every graphic detail presented in a book of images so Daniel could see the trauma he went through.
“My mum and dad were confronted with me in a coma with tubes everywhere, I was on life support. They were told that if I survived, I would more than likely be in a vegetative state.
“When I look back at my photographs and videos of myself in rehab - it’s full on.”
The 38 year old said he’s been transformed “big time” and not just physically. His whole outlook on life has changed.
“It’s like I’ve been born again and technically I have,” Daniel added.
“I had to learn how to breathe by myself again, learn how to eat again, then I had to learn how to talk again, I had to learn how to walk and write again and now I’ve learnt how to drive again!
“To finally be able to drive my car on my own is really cool! I’ve always loved cars, love driving... I even used to work for a mechanic.”
Daniel is grateful for the financial assistance he has been given by the Lifetime Support Authority during his on-going recovery, and also the kindness shown by his driving instructor, Barry Smith who donated 11 of the 17 lessons required to gain back the independence he so desperately wanted.
“I just thought Daniel needed his license, I wanted to help him as much as I could,” Barry said as he detailed the long process from the initial driving test to see if he was even physically capable of driving.
“The auditor from the department said he drove really well so he had a couple more lessons.
“I reckon he’s inspirational, he’s so positive. Even when he didn’t pass his first test, he just saw the positive sides of it and that made him more determined to keep going.
“That determination is probably why Daniel has recovered as much as he has. Plus, he’s got two small children as well, he just needed a hand and I wanted to give him that.”
Now, the transformed Daniel goes to secondary schools as part of the MFS Road Awareness Programme (RAP) as well as the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) programme, telling students how the poor choices he made led him down a destructive path.
He speaks of how he smoked, experimented with drugs and drove in ways that are shameful to recount.
“I didn’t care...I became known to the local police and it became a war between them and me. My lifestyle choices affected the type of father I was to my children,” Daniel said.
But that was his “old life” and it’s his “new life” he enjoys today after years of extensive and gruelling therapies.
Whilst he’ll be “in recovery forever,” Daniel is determined to stop the next generation from making the same mistakes he did.
“I’m trying my hardest to make a difference to others,” he said.
“Talking to teenagers, trying to tell them to follow the rules and be good citizens and don’t be silly on the roads - I’m the example!
“For me, if I can get through to one person in every group that’s a plus because that one turns into 60 when you add in all their family and friends...if just one doesn’t die in a car crash.”
His heartfelt message is for drivers not to be in a rush, be sensible on the road and abide by the law.
“It might seem cool with your friends to talk about breaking the rules but realistically the rules are there to keep you alive and to keep everyone else safe and alive,” Daniel urged.
“If you are not following the rules, your mistake could involve someone else dying or somebody else getting hurt because of your mistake...You’ve just got to follow the rules all the time.”
Daniel said he’s the “most law-abiding citizen there is now”, the complete opposite to his former self.
“You couldn’t even pay me to break a rule!” he said.
“I’m one of the lucky ones who survived and now I can make a difference in my second life.”
