Newcastle woman sent bill by iCare for Swansea Bridge crash in 2017

A woman who almost died after running her car off a bridge in wet weather was left mortified after being sent a $11,700 bill for the damage she caused five years after the crash.

Deb Maroney was crossing the Swansea bridge, near Newcastle, NSW, in heavy rain on May 31, 2017, when her Ford Falcon slipped and she was thrown off the side of the bridge.

Ms Maroney said the bridge’s rusting railing did little to stop her car from plummeting into the fast-moving channel two metres below.

‘I thought I was going to die. I was convinced, I had given up,’ she told A Current Affair.

Five years later, Ms Maroney said she was still paying for therapy to help her recover from the traumatic crash.

‘I can’t even go through a car wash because of the water hitting the car,’ she said. 

However, that was nothing compared with the shock of being presented with an an $11,758.45 bill for the damaged she caused to bridge by Transport NSW’s insurance company iCare.

Ms Maroney said the bill ‘absolutely crushed’ her and she couldn’t understand why she was being charged for damages when the road’s fencing was ‘inadequate 

‘My car slid on the greasy metal rail on the bridge, hit these two fences and went straight into the water,’ she said.

‘If they had been something substantial, I would have been okay.’ 

Ms Maroney said the weak railing on Swansea Bridge did little to stop her car from plummeting into a fast-moving channel below (pictured, Ms Maroney’s car after it was pulled from the water)

A spokeswoman for Transport NSW said it had only found out about Ms Maroney’s bill when contacted by media last week.

She said Transport NSW sought immediate action with iCare and had the bill revoked. 

However, Ms Maroney said she wants to see the bridge fixed or ‘it’ll kill someone’. 

The Transport NSW spokeswoman said it does not have a plan to update the bridge fencing but regularly performs maintenance inspections.  

Icare, the government insurer for NSW that provides insurance coverage for infrastructure controlled by Transport for NSW, confirmed they were acting on behalf of Transport for NSW in this matter.

‘We can confirm that following consultation with that agency, a decision was taken not to further pursue the costs,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Icare apologise for any concerns raised by this resolution process.’

Ms Maroney said if the bridge’s railing had been stronger than a ‘school’ or ‘pool’ fence then she would have been safe (pictured, the bridge’s fence after Ms Maroney’s crash)

Daily Mail Australia has contact iCare for comment.