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George Hile's beer belly saved his life. In April, a truck carrying 35 tons of fertilizer smashed into his cattle truck leaving Mr. Hile with a cracked pelvis, two broken ribs, a fracture in his spine and torn tendons in his finger.

Said the article "Somebody who lacked the Lilyvale truck driver’s generous girth would have died...Mr Hile remembers seeing the bull bar of the semi-trailer just before impact, on the highway between Oakey and Toowoomba. He thought 'this is going to hurt'." (just like Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder.) Hile laughed it off saying "my guts saved me".

Mr. Hile is still confined to a wheelchair as his wife, Roslyn, has taken over his driving duties to keep the family business going. It will be more than a year before Mr. Hile will know if he can resume his career as a livestock carrier.