By the time Fiona Simpson pulled over on the side of the road in rural Queensland, the sky had turned a violent shade of gray. Rain hit the windshield in sheets. Then, without much warning the glass started exploding.
“I didn’t even know hail could do that,” she told ABC News. “I thought it would just bounce off.”
But this wasn’t a typical rainstorm. It was a full-blown supercell with hail the size of tennis balls crashing into her car like cannonballs. In the backseat, her four-month-old baby Clara was strapped into her car seat. Her 78-year-old grandmother sat beside her, frozen in shock. Fiona had seconds to decide what to do.
“It Just All Shattered”
The date was October 11, 2018. Simpson, 23, had been driving near Nanango—a small town northwest of Brisbane—when the storm moved in fast and heavy. She told 7News, “Visibility went down to almost nothing so I pulled over thinking I’d just wait it out.” But waiting was not an option for long.
Hailstones began punching through the windows with brutal force. First the windshield, then the rear window. Shards of glass flew through the car. One hailstone struck her daughter’s car seat. “It was gone”, she said. “The window just disappeared.”
In that instant, instinct took over.
“I just jumped in the back and covered her,” Fiona told reporters. She threw herself over Clara, arms and back shielding the baby from flying ice and debris. One hand held the infant close; the other braced against the car’s interior.
For nearly ten minutes, she remained there—her body absorbing blow after blow. Hail kept coming through the shattered windows. It came in sideways. “There was nowhere safe to hide,” she said. “It just kept coming.”
Photos she later shared on Facebook showed her arms and back covered in deep purple bruises. Some welts were the size of apples. “I couldn’t feel anything at first,” she admitted. “I think I was in shock.”
“I’d Do It Again”
By the time the storm passed, the car was barely recognizable. Every window smashed, seats soaked, glass and hailstones everywhere.
Fiona somehow managed to get back behind the wheel and drove to the nearest house. Paramedics were called. Her grandmother had cuts and bruises. Fiona herself could barely move without pain. But Clara had only minor scratches.
“I’m just a mum,” she told The Courier-Mail. “You do what you have to do”.
The story spread quickly. Fiona Simpson, a name few outside Kingaroy had ever heard before, became a symbol of raw, everyday courage. Social media lit up with support. “This woman deserves a medal,” one Twitter user wrote. Another called her “the toughest mum in Queensland.”
Warnings and Weather
What hit that part of Queensland that day wasn’t just a freak storm—it was a meteorological monster. The Bureau of Meteorology later confirmed it was a supercell system with winds and hail powerful enough to cause widespread damage across farms, homes, and vehicles.
A tornado was also reported in the same area that day. But no lives were lost, in part due to quick decisions like Fiona’s.
She later used her experience to raise awareness. “Never drive in a hailstorm,” she posted, alongside photos of her injuries. “I had no idea how dangerous it could be.”
Though her bruises eventually healed, Fiona’s actions left a permanent impression. She didn’t ask for recognition—but it came anyway. In 2019, she was honored with a Commendation for Brave Conduct by the Australian government.
But for Fiona, it was never about being brave. It was about being a mother.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” she said. “If it meant keeping Clara safe, I wouldn’t think twice.”
