Neil Mitchell Program: June 1, 2010

Neil: Mark called in the first half hour and said his son had been involved in helping the victim out at Bayswater and there was a domestic incident behind it.  It wasn't simply a car on fire there was more to it.  On the line is Mark's son, Beau Fleming.  G'day Beau.

Beau: Hey Neil how are you?

Neil: Are you ok?

Beau: Um, shaken!

Neil: Well I'm not surprised.  What happened?

Beau: I was just driving down Mountain Highway heading back to the yard and yeah, I heard an explosion.  I can’t exactly tell you what I said but yeah!  Some doubt and blocked half of Mountain Highway pretty much and did what I could!

Neil: OK mate.  So you’re driving along the highway – you’re in a semi though?

Beau: Yeah.

Neil: Heard an explosion, did you see flames and fire?

Beau: Ah yeah and then I actually grabbed the fire extinguisher off my truck but I didn’t it was one that stopped beside me.

Neil: So you ran and you stopped in the middle of the highway put your truck there, you ran across.  What was happening when you got over there?

Beau: The male was running around waving knives and everyone was trying to help the female obviously and just, yeah it went pear shaped real quick.

Neil: She was on fire was she?

Beau: Engulfed.  Completely.  All her hair; everything.

Neil: That’s horrifying.

Beau: There was not one bit of white skin left.

Neil: So what did you do?

Beau: The best I could really.  Tried to put her out and yeah…

Neil: And you did manage to put her out by the sound of it?

Beau: Oh eventually.  Me and a few others eventually got her out and we had walked away at that stage and a couple of the others grabbed her and moved her over towards the shopping centre towards Woolworths that’s there or Safeway.

Neil: Where was the man with the knives while all this was happening?

Beau: Another person that was there had one of those Hummers and he actually jumped in that to run him over so we could have access to her and then when he got up he just left and ran towards the city down Mountain Highway.

Neil: So he is still on the loose.

Beau: Apparently so!

Neil: Ok.

Beau: I’m actually no longer there.  When everything sort of calmed down I gave her the option to remain and everything and I jumped back in the truck and headed off from there.

Neil: So when the woman was on fire was he preventing you and the others from getting to her?

Beau: Yep.  Waving a knife around at us.  Yeah, very scary situation for everyone.

Neil: Gee I’m not surprised.  Was he shouting at you, sort of “get away” or anything like that?

Beau: Um yeah, there was lots of other stuff going on “telling her to burn” and just not a pleasant sight.

Neil: He was telling her to burn?

Beau:Yep.

Neil: Jeez.  And how long did it take for you to get to her with the fire extinguisher?

Beau: I could say a minute or so, but to be honest I couldn’t tell you the exact time frame, it all happened so quick!

Neil: Yeah.  No you can’t tell, you can’t tell in a circumstance like that.  Do I understand correctly, somebody tried to, a bloke tried to run him over with his Hummer to keep him away?

Beau: Yep.  Yeah, so we could try and have access, to try and help her.  At this stage she was still rolling around, laying near the car.  When one of the other people that was on the scene went running over he said that she was actually bleeding and stuff like that so when we actually realised she had been stabbed as well!

Neil: Jeez, and was the fire, was the car on fire as well?

Beau: It was completely engulfed.  The car was completely engulfed, she was completely engulfed.  There was just black smoke pouring out from underneath the servo.  We were just trying to get her away because we didn’t know if they had shut the valves off to the pumps or anything so…

Neil: It’s very dangerous isn’t it, you’re in that situation.  I don’t suppose you had time to think about it but you’ve got fire in the service station and you’re running around trying to help!  Very dangerous.

Beau: Yeah.

Neil: Did you think about that Beau?

Beau: Ah it did cross my mind for about 2 seconds I think and I was more concerned about trying to help her than worrying about what was going to happen to me.

Neil: Well you’re a good man to react that way.  I just want to get it clear – you are driving along down Mountain Highway in your semi.  You hear the explosion, see the car, so you leave you semi on the road, run over.  You can’t get to the woman, the woman is on fire the car is on fire, you can’t get near the woman because a bloke with a knife is keeping people away, telling her to burn.  Somebody tries to run over him with his Hummer and he then runs off and you are able to get to the woman and put her out.  Is that it?

Beau: Yep.

Neil: Jeez, you’re a brave man Beau!

Beau: Thanks!.  It doesn’t help me shaking now and everything mate!

Neil: Do you have to work today?

Beau: Yeah, unfortunately.

Neil: Yeah it might be a good idea to have a chat someone, get a bit of counselling.  Would you be willing to do that, because we could help you with it.

Beau: Yeah I suppose, it’s all just, yeah…  I’m lost for words because I really don’t know what to do or anything at the moment.  I’m just in shock I guess.

Neil: You are in shock and the best thing to do is to have a talk to some experts, probably as soon as you can, and just talk it though.  The police will help you but we can help you as well.  So when we finish if you hold on and we’ll make sure we can help you.  Have you told the boss what happened yet?

Beau: Ah not as yet.  I was actually on the phone to dad when it all happened.  

Neil: Yeah he told me that.

Beau: Yeah and I said to Dad “I gotta go!”  I rang him back and got off the phone to him and went to grab a drink and jumped back in the truck and heard that Dad was talking to you.  And then I had the phone call from you guys.

Neil: We’ve just been talking to the police.  They tell us they don’t know where the man is.  They’re trying to find him and they had initially said the lady is ok, but she is not.  She is seriously burnt and stabbed I’m afraid. 

Beau: (Beau sighes)

Neil: But look just stay with us, you’ll want to hear this.  James Howes is on the line, Metropolitan Ambulance.