By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
PERSONAL and confronting stories of road trauma will hit Casey secondary schools this year.
Presenting to schools on the Mornington Peninsula for more than 16 years, the Teenagers Road Accident Group (TRAG) was approached by several schools in Casey to deliver its first-hand stories to year 12 students.
Road safety advocate Jonelle Colabufalo joined TRAG last year with a heart wrenching purpose to continue to tell her brother’s tragic story.
Jared Dunscombe was participating in a charity bike ride when he was killed by a passing truck.
At 31 years old, Jared had already defied doctors when he survived a car accident in Dandenong at seven years old.
Ms Colabufalo calls her brother the family’s miracle boy, “he was given no chance to survive” after his first accident.
“Jared was rushed to Dandenong Hospital and then airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“Afterwards the surgeon said they couldn’t do anything because his injuries were too severe,” Ms Colabufalo said.
After emergency brain surgery Jared was put into an induced coma where he stayed for three and a half weeks before his life support was turned off.
“He started to breathe on his own and it was turned back on, Jared’s life was pretty remarkable.
“They said he wouldn’t be able to do anything, they said he’d be a vegetable,” Ms Colabufalo said.
Jared went on to finish VCE and university, he ran in the Queens Baton Relay, trekked the Kokoda Trail, ran his own sports store in Mornington and participated in numerous charity bike rides.
“He had severe injuries but was determined to overcome them and that he sure did.
“He still had brain damage, severe weakness in the left side of his body and academically he couldn’t do all the things he wanted to do but TRAG was his passion,” she said.
Ms Colabufalo remembers her brother coming home after a TRAG presentation beaming with happiness telling her, ‘if I’ve saved one life today it was worth it’.
“I’ve taken on his role speaking with TRAG, I tell his story and then add the second unbelievable tragedy, I felt that I wanted to keep telling his story and I think that he would have wanted that,” Ms Colabufalo said.
The TRAG team consists of police, fire, ambulance and SES services as well as victims of road trauma and the families of victims.
“We provide a graphic and emotional account of how teenage road trauma impacts victims, families, friends, schools and communities,” Ms Colabufalo said.
The free service is coming to Casey Grammar School on 26 August and has already got 500 registered students.
For more information visit www.trag-vic.org or jaredfund.org.au.
