'It was like deja vu': Grieving ex-wife of father-of-two who once cheated death reveals the moment she realised he was never coming home from a motorbike ride - and the eerie similarities that are giving her shivers
The devastated ex-wife of a man killed in a motorbike crash revealed the father-of-two cheated death in an eerily similar incident years earlier.
Daniel MacNellie, 39, was riding his motorbike in North Maclean, south of Brisbane, when he smashed into a tree on Friday afternoon.
Upon walking into his house on the same day his ex-partner Melina MacNellie-Verrall had an overwhelming feeling something had happened to MacNellie - and her mind flashed back to a crash he had in 2005.
Daniel MacNellie, 39, was killed when he crashed into a tree while riding his motorcycle in North Maclean, south of Brisbane on Friday
'I had taken our two sons to his house and as soon as we got inside, I knew something was wrong and it was like deja vu when he had his previous motorbike accident and almost died,' she told the Courier Mail.
'I knew he had cheated death before but my heart dropped when I saw one of the bikes was missing and we couldn't get him on the phone.'
Ms MacNellie-Verrall has been separated from her ex-husband since 2015 and spoke to him just two hours before the fatal crash.
The couple had two sons together, Leighton, 15, and Damion, 13, who also ride motorcycles after learning to ride on a farm they grew up on.
Back in 2005, Mr MacNellie had crashed his bike on the family farm but survived after a CareFlight helicopter rushed him to hospital.
For his ex-wife, that day was all too similar to last weekend with even down to the age of her children: She had a three-month-old during the 2005 crash and a baby the same age upon hearing the tragic news on Friday.
Mr MacNellie had been riding near the corner of Greenbank Road, in North Maclean just south of Brisbane before the accident
Nearby residents tried their best to revive Mr MacNellie but he died at the scene.
'I now want my two boys to grow up remembering that their father lived for them and loved his life,' his ex-wife said.
The 39-year-old will be buried in the same place as his sister, who died in a car crash when she was 18.
Queensland has lost 225 lives this year alone due to road fatalities.