What started as an ordinary day for working dad-of-two Stewart ‘Stewy’ Gatt quickly spiralled into every parent’s worst nightmare.
The professional snake and reptile catcher from Wyndham Vale, Victoria, had answered his phone that morning like he always had, tackling routine jobs and organising call-outs.
But by mid-afternoon, a single missed call would turn an already emotional day into what he now calls the most terrifying day of his life.
He was due to attend the funeral of a close friend who had died unexpectedly, which meant he couldn’t drive his son Riley, 18, to work in Little River, just 20 minutes down the road as he usually did.
Instead, Riley organised a lift with his best mate. The boys had a coastal getaway planned to Ocean Grove after Riley’s shift and had packed the car so they could leave straight from work.
Riley was meant to start at 2.30pm. But at 2.10pm, just 500 metres from his workplace, disaster struck when the boys’ car skidded off the road and burst into flames.
At the exact moment the crash happened, Stewy was inside a school building dealing with one of Australia’s most dangerous snakes.
‘I was literally tailing an eastern brown snake when my phone rang,’ he told Daily Mail.
What started as an ordinary day for working dad-of-two Stewart ‘Stewy’ Gatt (pictured) from country VIC, quickly spiralled into every parent’s worst nightmare when his son and a friend were involved in a serious car accident
That afternoon, Stewy missed a call from popular family tracking app Life360. They left a message immediately informing him that his son’s crash detection had been activated
‘They’re the second most venomous snake in the world, and that’s why I didn’t answer.’
‘The message said, “Hi, I’m calling from Life360. Your son’s crash detection has been activated”.’
Stewy uses the app to track his children’s whereabouts and safety and he had downloaded it months before for peace of mind. He he never expected it to deliver news like this.
‘I rang my wife straight away and told her about the voicemail, and I asked her to try and get hold of the boys,’ he recalled.
‘Minutes later she was hysterical.’
‘She said the boys had been in a serious car accident. A kangaroo had jumped out, the car rolled into a ditch, landed on its roof, and then burst into flames.’
‘All I could picture was my boy stuck in a car on fire, I couldn’t get the image out of my head.’
As panic set in, a staff member from the app called again asking him if he or his wife had made contact with the boys and if the car crash was confirmed.
Without hesitation, he jumped into his car and raced to the scene 20 minutes away, but when he arrived, it was much worse than he’d imagined
‘They told me emergency services had already been dispatched, which was massive, especially being in a rural area.’
Without hesitation, the father jumped into his car and raced to the scene, but when he arrived, it was much worse than he’d imagined.
‘There was a fire truck already there and another one pulling up [and] the car was completely engulfed in flames. It was one of the scariest feelings I’ve ever had.’
Then, through the smoke and chaos, he saw the two boys standing away from the car, out of the flaming vehicle and safe.
He credits the app’s crash detection and 24/7 emergency dispatch for ensuring help arrived as quickly as possible, describing it as an ‘absolute godsend’
As relief washed over him, Stewy said it didn’t feel real until he reached them and gave both boys ‘huge hugs’ and processed they were alive and well.
Shortly after, they were taken to Geelong Hospital as a precaution and later miraculously cleared of any serious injuries, which the family still can’t quite believe.
‘To think I was so close to never seeing or speaking to him again is terrifying. It was by far the scariest day of my life,’ he said.
He credits the app’s crash detection and 24/7 emergency dispatch for ensuring help arrived as quickly as possible, describing it as an ‘absolute godsend’.
The software lets you see the location history of your family and friends too, and allows users to also monitor the location of objects such as wallets, keys or backpacks when used in conjunction with Tile devices.
In Stewy’s case, what started as a simple parenting tool to keep tabs on his children quickly became one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
‘The immediate response of the operator was phenomenal, and I can’t thank them enough,’ he said.
‘I would highly recommend that everyone download the app, as it could potentially be a life saver.’
