Niall and Emily Tuohy win Royal Life Saving WA bravery award gold medallions for saving Kelly Willer’s life

A husband and wife who saved the life of a woman injured in a head-on crash in Arthur River last year have been recognised for their life-saving efforts at a special public event. Doctor Niall and nurse Emily Tuohy, both trained in emergency medicine, were awarded gold medallions at the Royal Life Saving WA Bravery Awards ceremony in Kings Park on Friday. Crash victim Kelly Willer suffered severe head injuries and internal bleeding after her vehicle was hit head-on by an oncoming car that veered into the wrong lane on Albany Highway. Ms Willer’s father Gerard Healy, who nominated the couple for the award, said he had “no doubt” that without their intervention, he would not have his daughter. “You could not have had a more appropriate team on site — I would say it’s a miracle that they were at the scene in the first few minutes,” he said. “I always struggle to think about it, what the other outcome would’ve been. “I’m really glad that they got their gold medallion, but personally I think they’re worth their weight in gold.” The Tuohys were driving from Perth to Bremer Bay for a whale-watching tour on March 31 last year when they came across the aftermath of a devastating two-car collision, with one car wrecked in the middle of the road and the other flipped over in a ditch. Seeing the occupant of the flipped car in a dire condition, the pair jumped into action. Ms Tuohy called emergency services and delivered updates on Ms Willer’s condition while Mr Tuohy performed essential first aid that kept her alive as they waited for help. Emergency crews arrived about 30 minutes later and the couple stayed for another three hours, keeping Ms Willer stable and administering essential medications until the rescue helicopter arrived. Mr Tuohy said despite their time in the emergency department, it was “very confronting” to come across the scene on their way to a holiday. “The unexpected nature of it caught us by surprise, no matter how much we’ve seen,” he said. “I was wearing my shorts and thongs for a holiday weekend — we were thinking about where we would stop for a toilet break or a snack — then bang, you’re in the middle of an emergency. “We’ve come across a high level of scenes in ED, but you’ve got a team behind you and the equipment, and you’re prepared. “It was a very confronting scene to come across as a medical professional, but we are very happy and grateful it was us driving a couple of hundred metres behind her.” Mr Tuohy said even though he and his wife are proud to receive the award, they want to share the credit with Ms Willer and the volunteers who helped her. “Kelly was so brave in her recovery that part of us feels like she deserves an award as well,” he said. “It was also such an eye-opener to see the volunteers and ambo people at work that night. “They arrived so quickly and were so phenomenal — I can’t stress enough the brilliance of the volunteer support.” Eighteen months on, Ms Willer is back working full-time and making a strong recovery. She said attending the awards was “very emotional” and that she is “so grateful” for the Tuohys. “I’ve still got a long way to go, a lot of follow-up procedures to be done but I’m just focusing on the good things,” she said. “My son just had his ninth birthday, and I was there — without Emily and Niall, he would be without his mum. “They could’ve kept driving or left once the crew arrived but they didn’t and for that I’m so grateful as I likely wouldn’t be here.” Mr Healy said he had made it “something of a mission” to thank everyone involved in saving his daughter, hosting a reunion event in Williams last October for the volunteers that attended the scene. The Bravery Awards nomination form is available on the RLSWA website.