A short bike ride to the post office turned into a life-threatening ordeal for Marcela Montalva, a Chilean woman living in outback Queensland on a Working Holiday Visa.
She was knocked unconscious when a magpie attacked her while she was biking, causing her to fall and sending her crashing onto a concrete road.
Airlifted to the hospital with multiple fractures and a rare neck injury, she is now facing a steep financial battle after her insurance company refused to pay her bills.
A peaceful ride in the outback turned into a terrifying crash for Marcela
Marcela had been living in the remote mining town of Ravenswood, 135km south of Townsville in north Queensland, for about four months when the accident happened. On her day off, she decided to cycle two kilometres to the post office.
“On October 15th, 2025, during my day off, I decided to ride my bike to the post office, about 2 km away from where I live,” she wrote on her GoFundMe page.
“Halfway there, I was suddenly attacked by a magpie, lost control of the bicycle, and fell hard on the road, hitting the left side of my face on the concrete.”
She lost consciousness and later woke up in a nearby mine’s medical facility. “I lost consciousness and later woke up in the mine’s medical unit, without my bike or helmet. From there, I had to be airlifted by helicopter to the Townsville University Hospital, as I was in a very remote area.”
Scans revealed multiple injuries. Her left cheekbone, zygomatic arch, upper jaw, and eye socket were fractured. Even more alarming was a fracture to her hyoid bone, a small horseshoe-shaped bone in the neck that supports the tongue and airway, according to the Daily Mail.
“Doctors told me I was lucky to be alive,” she wrote on her GoFundMe page.
Magpies are territorial birds, and they become especially protective of their nests during breeding season, which typically runs from August through November, according to the Queensland Government’s official website.
During this season, magpie attacks become quite common, with people, from bikers to those taking a stroll, getting swooped at by the angry birds.
An insurance denial that made Marcela’s injury a thousand times worse
The accident left Marcela struggling to eat and speak. She also needs urgent facial reconstructive surgery due to her injuries.
Unfortunately for Marcela, her insurance company has refused to cover any of her medical costs.
“My travel insurance has refused to cover any medical or surgical costs, claiming that the initial report stated I was found without a helmet,” she explained. “I’ve tried to dispute this information, but so far I haven’t been successful.”
Marcela insisted that she was wearing a helmet when she biked to the post office on the day of the accident. However, she woke up without her helmet or bike, leaving her unable to prove her case.
Marcela’s ongoing dispute with her insurance provider has delayed her surgery and forced her to turn to the kindness of strangers.
“With a lot of humility, I decided to create this GoFundMe. It’s not easy for me to ask for help, but right now, I truly need it,” she shared. “Any contribution, big or small, will help me cover the surgery, hospital bills, and recovery expenses.”
At the time of writing, her fundraiser had received over 138 donations totaling $5,990, with a goal of $20,000.
Some netizens, however, expressed skepticism as first responders typically take note of a person’s belongings before they are transported to a medical facility.
“It’s really simple. The paramedics would’ve noted her helmet in their notes if she was wearing one. Clearly she wasn’t! No one is going to go and steal a helmet off an unconscious person,” a netizen from Australia wrote in a comment.
Before her accident, Marcela was making the most of her time in Australia
Before the accident, Marcela was thriving in Australia. She came to the country from Chile on a Working Holiday Visa.
She moved to Ravenswood to complete the 88 regional work days required by her visa, taking a job as an all-rounder in a local roadhouse.
Then came the swoop that changed everything. “I never imagined something like this could happen to me,” she wrote.
“I always try to stay safe, but I could have never predicted that a bird attack would lead to such a serious accident.”
While some netizens are skeptical of Marcela’s account of her injuries, others have also shared their frustrations with her insurance company.
“Another reason so many people don’t buy health insurance. The companies try every which way to shelve their responsibilities to avoid paying a valid claim,” wrote one commenter.
Netizens shared their thoughts on Marcela’s magpie attack on social media
