Location: Hinze Dam, Queensland
Event: Yowie Hit by Car
Date: March 2, 2001
It was close to 11pm on Friday night when Gold Coast based Aaron Carmichael, was returning home from an evening drive in heavy rain. Aaron had been around the Hinze Dam area before taking a route home that would change his outlook on the Australian bush forever.
The road was several Km long with windy bends and the road surface was slippery with the deluge of rain that had flooded many parts of the Gold Coast in the past 2 days. He was driving his 80’s model Commodore around a right hand bend at 70kph when he saw from the left side of the road a large figure appear from the bush line.
According to Aaron it was certainly NO Human or any other native Australian animal. From the description given at the time from Aaron it was roughly around 8ft tall and very solid. Although the outline and motion of the creature was that of a Human, it was covered in thick brown hair and twice the dimensions.
The Gold Coast Hinterland has a vast amount of Yowie sightings, in fact it is one of the largest sighting areas in the country. We have had many reports to this group over the past few years from this area and there has been many more proceeding our arrival.
The Hinze dam location is only a stones throw from Springbrook, another Yowie sighting hot spot where our own team had encountered the Yowie during the mid and late 1999. Wildlife Rangers have reported seeing their own share of the Yowie in the Hinterland in the past years and this is also close to the famous Bill O’Chee sighting. (That’s Bill seeing a Yowie, not a people seeing Bill!).
As the Yowie leapt from the bush line in full flight, it intentions were clear - to get to the other side of the road before the car crossed its path. Unfortunately for the Yowie, when Aaron saw it run towards the road, he veered his car on the right hand side of the road to avoid it and as a result of the process cutting off any chance it had to clear the car. It was an evasive manoeuvre that most of us would have made in the same situation.
The creature was fast and took huge strides, a fact that would have encouraged it to back itself for speed, however it didn’t count on a fast change of direction by the car, and one mistake that is doubted to be forgotten. As a hypothesis, the heavy rain at the time may have ‘dulled’ its sight and hearing because Aaron is certain that it seemed to be on the way across the road before it realised the car was there, then when it did realise it was already far too obligated to stop.
The car swerved to the right, Aaron glanced to the right to check his clearance from a dirt wall, then crunch. He hit the Yowie in the middle of the road sending his car airborne and his head to the steering wheel. The car then made a 90 degree turn to the right again and nudged into the dirt embankment. He sat there in total darkness with both headlights broken, not knowing where the creature was.
Aaron was clearly shaken by his ordeal and after interviewing countless witnesses over the years we all agree that from the damage to the car and the account of Aaron (who also comes from a good family has his wits about him), that something indeed did happen this night.
Which brings me to my second Hypothesis. Normally when a pedestrian impacts with a vehicle, the body is thrust over the top of the car, yet in this case the Yowie seemed to travel ‘under’ the car? This Yowie had picked its mark and was in full flight to get there. It didn’t notice the car until too late and attempted to beat it across the road, the ground was very wet and slippery, so lets hypothesise that it stopped at the last minute when Aaron swerved.
When it stopped suddenly after travelling so fast, it then slipped over as the car impacted, thus sending the car over the top and airborne. Aaron was very definite about the car being airborne, and I know from my own experience of hitting a German Shepherd (That’s a dog, not a German man herding elk’s), that my car was also airborne as it rolled under my underneath.
The damage to the car was across the entire front end, yet the small impact with the dirt wall was mainly on the right headlight and corner fender.
Aaron also mentioned that the impact in the middle of the road was far more substantial than the dirt wall seconds later. In the few days prior to contacting us, Aaron washed the front of the car with a Gernie (High powered water gun), which removed any blood or hair samples that may have been found. He said that he only realised his mistake in dong this a day or so later when talking to us and at the time he knew nothing of our group or who to talk to about the matter.
Several days after the accident Aaron accompanied myself and Mike to the location to look for further information. There were clear skid marks in the middle of the road just as Aaron described, then impressions where the car impacted with the wall some several metres after. The area is vastly over grown with lantana in places, however there were several tracks leading through the bush to a large River below.
Ashley, Steve and Trevor came out the next day to the spot and we found several trees strangely broken at around the 4ft mark and some rain washed impressions that may/may not have been prints. The habitat is perfect for the existence and survival of the Yowie and is also notorious for sightings.
We don’t hold high hopes of the retrieval of a body, however another trip will be conducted in the area within a week of this writing in an attempt to locate the injured creature.
Its a bench mark encounter of the Yowie and the first witness that we have had as a group the entails a car accident with. As we say, its just a matter time before the existence of the Yowie is proven. This Yowie was lucky, perhaps the next one won’t be so fortunate.
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