A young Mudgee couple say they are still shaken after a fireball engulfed the car they were driving and left them, their baby and their dog running for their lives.
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Tori Towell was driving the family's car along Ulan Rd on Wednesday night with her fiance Scott Ferguson, formerly of Lochiel, by her side and their two-month old baby Freddie and Rambo the bulldog in the back.
Suddenly, the couple's car slammed into a kangaroo on the quiet, dark country road just outside town.
"It didn't feel like a big hit, but it took off the whole front corner [of the car]," Ms Towell said.
The couple got out to inspect the damage and noticed smoke coming from the engine.
"Then, it started with this big glow," Ms Towell said.
Suddenly, the car was on fire.
"We grabbed the capsule and the dog and ran down the road," she said.
"We moved away quickly, maybe 100 metres, but it went up really quickly and made a loud pop."
It was 9.30pm, the temperature had already dropped to four degrees and the young family stood off to the side of the road nervously waiting for help.
"It was very dark on that road so we had to make sure we weren't near any traffic," she said.
Fire and Rescue NSW Mudgee Acting Captain Craig Muscat and his crew were called to the scene.
"The car was fully destroyed by fire and a young family with a baby and a dog were lucky to get out of there," he said.
It might have been a life-threatening incident for her family, but Ms Towell said Freddie didn't notice a thing.
"He slept through the whole thing, he didn't wake up at all," she said.
We grabbed the capsule and the dog and ran down the road.
- Tori Towell
Speaking to Australian Community Media following the fire, Ms Towell said the incident left them shaken.
"The first two nights I was really upset that it could have been so much worse and the car's gone," she said.
"We're still a bit shaken, especially when there's a baby involved.
"We were just so lucky."
Source: Mudgee Guardian