- Uber driver pulled a young passenger out of his car
- Broncos star Ezra Mam was involved in the collision
The driver of an Uber that collided with Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam’s ute has recalled the chaotic moment he pulled his four-year-old passenger to safety.
Marcel van den Camp claimed he ‘blacked out for a while’ and admitted he was ‘going to need some help getting over the mental hurdles’ after being behind the wheel during the incident.
The mother who was also in the car at the time said her young daughter suffered a broken hip in the collision, with both of them also suffering seatbelt burns.
Van Den Camp showed off that he too had suffered severe bruising to his chest area following the collision, showcasing the painful-looking injury on Tuesday.
Mam’s Ford Ranger and the Toyota containing Van Den Camp, the woman and her child had a head-on collision in the inner-north Brisbane suburb of Bardon on Friday.
The woman said she and her daughter were hospitalised after the incident.
Queensland Police carried out a roadside drug and alcohol test at the scene, with Mam allegedly failing the drug test, but returning a negative result for alcohol.
No charges have been laid over the crash.
‘In a flash there was this truck that hit us. It was an almighty crash and I blacked out for a while,’ Van Den Camp told Nine News.
‘The lady was saying, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe”, and I went holy moly, I’ve got to do something.
‘I tried the back doors, couldn’t open it, they were locked, so I went back to my door, reached over to the back door on my side, unlatched it.
‘So I got the girl out, they were pretty shaken to say the least.’
The driver was called a ‘hero’ by the girl’s mother but he said: ‘I think it was something I just had to do. I couldn’t leave them in the car.’
Mam’s agents revealed the Brisbane star, 21, has booked himself into a rehabilitation centre for ‘immediate professional treatment’.
Van Den Camp, meanwhile, has claimed that has heard nothing from the NRL club following the accident, adding that his car has been damaged beyond repair.
‘I have heard nothing, nothing from the Brisbane Broncos,’ he said.
‘I’m going to need some help getting over the mental hurdles that I’m experiencing, a bit of anxiety when I’m sitting in the car.’
On Tuesday, the mother of the child who was riding in the back of the Uber spoke about the injuries she and her daughter suffered.
‘She [her daughter] has a fractured hip… she has really bad burns from the friction of the seatbelt,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I also remember saying “I need to get out, I can’t breathe”. The Uber driver hopped out of the vehicle … to let us out … the door was jammed, it wouldn’t open.’
Mam’s management released a statement on Monday saying the star is seeking ‘immediate professional treatment’ in rehab.
‘Ezra is extremely remorseful,’ the statement read.
‘He is concerned, first and foremost, for the other parties involved and understands the enormity of the current situation.
‘He acknowledges he’s facing some personal challenges and, following these recent events, has taken a proactive step by seeking immediate professional treatment.
‘We will continue to support him throughout this process and will not make any further comments at this time.’
