Mother severely bruised after diving on top of baby during Australian hailstorm
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The story contains images that may be disturbing to some readers.
QUEENSLAND, Australia — A young mother is lucky to be alive after receiving massive bruises while shielding her baby from softball size hail.
Fiona Simpson, 23, was driving with her grandmother and 4-month-old daughter when a massive hail storm hit in Queensland, ABC Australia reports.
“We parked on the side of the road when the storm got to (sic) heavy and the hail blew out our windows,” Simpson said in a Facebook post Thursday. “I covered my infant with my body to stop her from getting badly injured.”
The large pellets of hail began breaking the vehicle windows and Simpson said the storm was so loud she could see her daughter screaming but couldn’t hear her.
Once the storm passed, Simpson reportedly drove her badly damaged car to a nearby home and screamed for help before the residents called an ambulance.
Once paramedics arrived, she went into shock and her whole body felt “numb”.
“It was so scary but there was not time to be afraid,” Simpson said. “It wasn’t until I got in the ambulance that I realized that if I didn’t do that she [her baby] could have been seriously hurt or killed, anything could have happened.”
On Facebook, Simpson said her back, arms and head are badly bruised.
“I’m just so relived (sic) that my daughter and grandmother are alright,” she wrote.
Officials received over 330 emergency calls as a result of the storm that blew roofs off homes and sheds.
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