Jade McDonald was beaten, choked and spat on at the hand’s of her former partner before he forced her to drive into oncoming traffic during a violent argument.
The 23-year-old survived the horrific car crash in February last year, but it was a tumultuous conclusion to her two-year relationship with Douglas Deacon.
Jade broke 17 different bones, shattering her ankles, ribs, femur and wrist, and required multiple surgeries.
As she lay in hospital and comprehended her injuries the day after the horrific crash, Deacon discharged himself, telling nurses: ‘Tell Jade I’m going to kill her next time I see her.’
Jade McDonald, 23, (pictured) was beaten, choked and spat on at the hand’s of her former partner before he forced her to drive into oncoming traffic during a violent argument
As she lay in hospital and comprehended her injuries the day after the horrific crash (left), Deacon (right) discharged himself, telling nurses: ‘Tell Jade I’m going to kill her next time I see her’
Deacon was subsequently sentenced to five years behind bars, but after serving only one third of his sentence, he will be eligible for parole in October.
Jade, who is still unable to work, said she’s terrified at the thought of her former boyfriend being released.
‘I’m angry, I’m scared… I don’t think five years is enough for him, because I’m probably not going to be better in five years,’ she told 9News on Monday.
‘My whole life is different now. It’s changed. I’ll be in pain for the rest of my life.’
A month prior to the crash, Jade said she tried to leave the increasingly violent relationship.
‘He would threaten me and threaten (my friends and family) that if I was to tell anyone that he would do stuff to them and make me watch,’ she said.
The 23-year-old (right) survived the horrific car crash in February last year, but it was a tumultuous conclusion to her two-year relationship with Douglas Deacon (left)
The violence escalated when Deacon grabbed the steering wheel and slammed the pair into oncoming traffic in February 2017 (Jade’s car pictured after the crash)
On the night of the crash, Jade told the publication she had picked an intoxicated and violent Deacon up from his mother’s house in Brisbane’s north.
‘I could feel his breath on my ear and I could feel his spit hitting my cheeks … He started grabbing my hair and he pulled my head down and smacked it into the gear stick,’ she recalled.
The violence escalated when Deacon grabbed the steering wheel and slammed the pair into oncoming traffic.
Jade remained in hospital for three weeks and then spent a further three months in rehabilitation where she had to learn to walk again.
While she recovers from injuries which include a broken leg, nose, wrist, cheekbone, fingers and toes, Jade requires weekly psychologist and physiotherapy sessions.
Her ankles and wrist are held together by steel plates and pins and a steel rod may stay permanently embedded in her thigh.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). In Queensland, contact DV Connect on 1800 811 811. In an emergency call Triple Zero.
‘I’m angry, I’m scared… I don’t think five years is enough for him, because I’m probably not going to be better in five years,’ Jade said
Jade remained in hospital for three weeks and then spent a further three months in rehabilitation. Her ankles and wrist are held together by steel plates and pins (pictured) and a steel rod may stay permanently embedded in her thigh