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Mum whose car was crushed by falling road sign now suing state


A woman who was hurt when a giant sign fell from a gantry on a highway on to her car has hired lawyers to sue for compensation.

Nella Lettieri escaped serious injury when the four-metre by five-metre sign fell on to her car on the Tullamarine freeway, near Essendon Airport, about 5.30pm on January 8.

However, she now suffers from flashbacks and is terrified of driving, The Herald Sun reports. She has also been unable to return to work.

An audit of freeway signs completed after the incident found some were missing essential parts.

The sign falls on Nella Lettieri’s car as she drives along the Tullamarine freeway. Source: 7 News
The sign falls on Nella Lettieri’s car as she drives along the Tullamarine freeway. Source: 7 News

Ms Lettieri wants VicRoads and Transurban held accountable after it was revealed a missing safety plate had caused the sign to fall.

“How does it happen?” Ms Lettieri said.

“If I was in a third world country … but here in Australia where we are so strict?”

Earlier this month, Ms Lettieri said she initially thought her car had been hit by a plane and it was a “miracle” she survived the impact.

The mother-of-three was on her way to pick up one of her daughters when the sign fell out of the blue. Source: 7 News
The mother-of-three was on her way to pick up one of her daughters when the sign fell out of the blue. Source: 7 News

She was left with shards from her smashed windscreen in her hair, and in serious pain.

“Head, neck, shoulders, every muscle in my body hurts at the moment,” she said.

As the sign came crashing down on her car, she thought: “It’s too soon, don’t take me just yet.”

Her daughters Stephanie and Claudia were also horrified as they drove past her Hyundai on the way to see her in hospital.

Ms Lettieri was left with shards from her smashed windscreen in her hair, and in serious pain. Source: 7News
Ms Lettieri was left with shards from her smashed windscreen in her hair, and in serious pain. Source: 7News

Stephanie said she was “just shocked”.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

“You never expect something like this to happen. She did say she ducked as soon as she felt something hit the car because she was worried it was a plane or something. So, I think that saved her.”

With AAP

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