The English import for the Kyabram Cricket Club was working his first day at his new job in October 2018 as a delivery driver when he fell asleep at the wheel.
About 2 km from his destination in Gunbower, Billy fell asleep — drifting across the road and hitting an oncoming bus head on.
“My car bounced off the bus at 110 km/h and I ended up in a ditch on the left hand side of the road and the car went to go up in flames,” Billy said.
“Luckily there were people around who had a hose and pump that were able to put it out.”
The collision resulted in what Billy described as "significant life-changing injuries".
Billy said every bone on the right hand side of his body was broken in some way, along with snapping his femur which is now held together by a metal rod.
“My arm is considered a partial amputation because I had such significant bone loss, I lost the whole elbow joint ... there is no rotation or extension in my arm, it all comes from my shoulder,” he said.
Billy also punctured both his lungs, split his liver and received a severe laceration to his head.
Spending the next four-and-a-half months in a wheelchair, Billy's recovery was long and tough.
While he isn't out of the woods just yet and he still faces another three or four surgeries in the near future, Billy is getting ready to share his story with the Goulburn Valley.
He will be speaking at the upcoming CoolHeads Young Driver Program in Shepparton next month, sharing his story in a bid to raise awareness of how easily serious collisions can arise.
“From my background playing sport at a sufficient level you can't help but feel like you're a little bit untouchable — when you hear about these things happening you think it won't happen to me,” he said.
“I think because of that I'll be able to connect a little bit more with the younger people there because of that background and knowing how I felt, and also connecting with them on a sporting front.”
Billy attended a similar driving program back home in the United Kingdom when he was about 15, saying he remembered the speakers and their stories resonating with him at the time.
By speaking at the event he said he hoped to remind people that you don't have to be breaking the law to put yourself in danger — it can be simple things like being fatigued, which can also have very serious consequences.
“I was fit, strong, athletic and I could do quite a lot of things physically and now it's very frustrating,” Billy said.
“Mine isn't a case of waiting to be able to live a normal life, mine is never being able to do certain things again — that frustration is always going to be there.”
CoolHeads Young Driver Program will be held at the GOTAFE Auditorium in Fryers St, Shepparton on March 4 at 7 pm. For more information, phone Leading Senior Constable Glenn Gibson on 5820 5830.
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