Great Western harness racing driver Kerryn Manning out of intensive care

Manning was taken to hospital by ambulance with three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a severe concussion after the crash, which also injured fellow driver Aaron Dunn from Horsham. 

Manning’s husband Grant Campbell said his wife had now been moved out of the intensive care unit and was steadily improving. 

Manning is in the surgical unit, where she will be monitored for 24 hours before being assessed for a move into a general ward. 

“It is all depending on how she copes with the pain when they ween her off the medication,” he said. 

“My brother rang her and asked whether she had ever had broken ribs or been on morphine before. 

“She replied ‘no’ and he told her that morphine was very good and broken ribs were very bad. 

“She has a long way to go.” 

Dunn dislocated and cracked his shoulder in the crash.

Dunn’s father Barry said it would be a few months before Dunn was able to get back to driving. 

“They had to knock him out and x-rays found more surgery was needed,” he said. 

“He is travelling OK. He is going to have his arm tied to his waist for about six weeks.”

The crash occurred when Manning was flipped from her cart on the home turn. 

She was flipped sideways, catapulting to the ground, which caused her concussion. 

The drivers behind could not avoid Manning, as a cart ran over her seconds later, crushing her. 

Campbell said injuries were an unfortunate nature of the industry. 

“She had a fall about eight weeks ago, which she thankfully walked away from,” he said. 

“Sometimes when you are flipped from your cart you can walk away with just a bruise or two but it was not the case this time.” 

Campbell said Manning was determined to pull through. 

“She is pretty tough,” he said. 

“These things can happen so we are just lucky she is out of serious harm. 

“Hopefully in time this can all just become a memory. 

“We will have to wait and see how she comes back.” 

The accident came as a shock to the Wimmera community, which recently watched Manning etch her name on the Stawell Pacing Cup for a fourth time last Sunday, with her talented six-year-old Ideal Success taking out the feature race.

Manning was the first person to win 300 races in a single season in Australia or New Zealand and holds the world record for the most wins in a season by a female driver.