Footy WAG Dee Salmin has revealed the details of a horror car crash she experienced at the age of 18. The 31-year-old podcaster confirmed that the accident caused numerous facial and jaw injuries, as well as breaking both of her legs. Due to the severity of her injuries, Salmin had to spend months in hospital during her recovery, part of which involved learning to walk again.
Salmin also disclosed that she was left to pick up the pieces of her life alone, as her partner at the time separated from her during the recovery period. Speaking to the inheritedthepod podcast, Salmin credited a male nurse who was driving by and stopped to help her after the crash.
Recounting the incident, Salmin said: 'My partner and I were driving, and I said to him, do you mind if I drive, I feel so tired I can't drive. And then he said he would do half the trip because he wanted to start drinking. Within 15 minutes, the tyres veered onto the gravel, the tyres locked, and I blacked out. I don't remember it happening, but I went straight into a tree. I was upside down, crushed against the tree, my legs were completely smashed, and I couldn't move my neck. I didn't know at the time, but I'd broken my jaw.'
She added: 'He had to jump out of the car and try to stop someone driving past. The first person didn't stop; she said she couldn't handle it. Luckily, the second person was a male nurse. I'll never forget him. He held my hand underneath the car. People like that are lifesavers. He stayed with me the whole three hours it took to cut me out of the car. I flew in a helicopter to Royal Perth and went through emergency. It took months to recover. During that time, my partner and I separated, and I put love on a pedestal. I thought first love would be you and them against the world, but I learned quickly that wasn't the case.'
The inheritedthepod Instagram post captioned: 'In this week's episode, Dee opens up about surviving a near-fatal car crash at 18 that changed everything. Fresh out of high school, she was left with both legs broken, facial and jaw injuries, and months in hospital. She had to relearn how to walk and slowly rebuild her life from the ground up. At the same time, she was navigating her first serious relationship and shares the heartbreak of how her partner went MIA during her recovery, leaving her to face one of the hardest periods alone.'
Salmin has since found love with Darcy Moore, recently telling the Sydney Morning Herald that they have moved in together. 'We had lots of conversations about what living together would look like and how it would work, and it's been really fun,' she said.
