South Australia’s public health chief has opened up about a terrifying moment in which she was hit by a car last year, saying she thought she was “going to be killed” when she was knocked from her bike.
Nicola Spurrier recounted the experience of the crash — which left her with broken bones — as part of a push by authorities during National Road Safety Week to draw attention to the dangers.
The public message came just hours after the most recent death on the state’s roads, with a 39-year-old motorcyclist killed in a crash with a ute in the Adelaide Hills.
So far in 2026, 44 lives have been lost on SA roads, compared with 30 at the same time 12 months ago.
Professor Spurrier says her shoulder was badly injured in the collision. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)
To highlight the risks, Professor Spurrier described the moment last year when, on October 25, a car collided with her as she was cycling through a roundabout.
“The next thing I knew was my wheel was right at that bonnet of that car, there was nowhere I could go except over the bonnet,” the Chief Public Health Officer said.
“I have to say that maybe I had my Wonder Woman cape on that day because I went flying.
“I thought, ‘This is the end, I’m dead, I’m going to be killed’ because there was nothing I can do.“
Professor Spurrier is urging drivers to respect cyclists. (Supplied: SA Government)
The crash left her with three pelvic fractures, a broken rib and finger, and an injured shoulder that required two operations to fix.
Professor Spurrier said in the moment of collision, she thought about her three children.
“And I thought, ‘What is this all going to mean to them? Their mum’s going to be killed’,”
she said.
She said she landed in the gutter, 4 metres on the other side of the roundabout, in blinding pain.
“I couldn’t move my legs, I didn’t know if I had been paralysed or not,” Professor Spurrier said.
“But I did know that my arm was in a bad way and I could see that at least one of my fingers was broken.”
The public health chief was cycling when she was involved in a road crash last year. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)
She said her recovery had taken seven months and was still continuing, and she urged drivers to pay more attention to cyclists, who “have every right to be on the roads”.
“We are human beings out there on our bikes,” she said.
SA Police Traffic Services Branch’s officer-in-charge, Superintendent Shane Johnson, said 11 motorcyclists and four cyclists had died in road crashes this year.
“Every number is a person, it’s a family member, it’s someone’s mate, it’s someone that should’ve arrived home safely,”
he said.
“This Road Safety Week, we’re asking all drivers, please don’t take risks on the road.”
Superintendent Shane Johnson says road deaths are not just statistics. (ABC News: Isabella Carbone)
SA Police figures show drivers make up a majority of the road deaths this year — 18 — while seven passengers have lost their lives.
There have been 25 regional road deaths, while 19 fatal crashes have occurred in metropolitan areas, the data shows.
Fatal collision in Adelaide Hills
In today’s fatal crash in the Adelaide Hills, a ute and a motorbike collided on Old Princes Highway at Kanmantoo just after 7am.
The motorcycle rider — a 39-year-old man from Kanmantoo — died at the scene.
The driver of the ute, a 35-year-old man, was not injured but has since been charged with causing death by careless driving and was issued with an immediate loss of licence.
He was bailed to attend the Mount Barker Magistrates Court in August.
Superintendent Johnson said Major Crash officers attended that crash, as well as another serious collision in the Clare Valley.
Two sedans and a ute were involved in the crash at the intersection of the Horrocks Highway and Pearce Road about 6:30pm on Sunday.
One of the drivers, a 32-year-old Goodwood man, was flown to hospital with serious injuries, while the other two drivers were not seriously hurt and were taken to hospital via ambulance.
