Madeleine West returned for the first time to the place she was hit by a bus 18 years ago 

In 2002, Madeleine West was lucky to survive a horrific bus accident on Sydney’s Oxford St that nearly claimed her life. 

And 18 years later, the 40-year-old has returned to the site of the crash for the first time. 

Documenting the experience in a piece for Stellar Magazine, the Neighbours star detailed how she spent four hours frozen in fear as she sat at the Darlinghurst bus stop where she sustained her injuries. 

Going back: Madeleine West (pictured) was lucky to survive a horrific bus accident on Sydney’s Oxford St that nearly claimed her life. And 18 years later, the 40-year-old returned to the site of the crash for the first time, documenting the experience in Stellar

Madeleine explained she felt ‘trapped in the paradox of fight or flight’ for four hours  and 35 minutes as she tried to face her fear.

She wrote:  ‘Absurdly, it is the hissing of the brakes that sends my heart racing and pulse thrumming. My fists are clenched and my nails dig into my palms with a force that threatens to draw blood. I can’t breathe.

‘A strange noise catches my attention. A shallow, pained keening. The cry of an injured animal or frightened child. It’s coming from me.’ 

Horror: Madeleine explained she felt 'trapped in the paradox of fight or flight' for four hours and 35 minutes as she tried to face her fear. She wrote: 'My fists are clenched and my nails dig into my palms with a force that threatens to draw blood. I can't breathe.' Pictured in Stellar

 Horror: Madeleine explained she felt ‘trapped in the paradox of fight or flight’ for four hours and 35 minutes as she tried to face her fear. She wrote: ‘My fists are clenched and my nails dig into my palms with a force that threatens to draw blood. I can’t breathe.’ Pictured in Stellar

She went on: 'There is no way the anger and agony can be silenced, and I begin to weep. Snotty, hiccupy, the choked hysterics of a little kid terrified out of their wits. Apt, really, because that is how I feel and look'

She went on: ‘There is no way the anger and agony can be silenced, and I begin to weep. Snotty, hiccupy, the choked hysterics of a little kid terrified out of their wits. Apt, really, because that is how I feel and look’ 

She went on: ‘There is no way the anger and agony can be silenced, and I begin to weep. Snotty, hiccupy, the choked hysterics of a little kid terrified out of their wits. Apt, really, because that is how I feel and look.’  

A woman named Karen, a stranger to the actress, saw her distress and comforted her until she was able to calm down. 

‘Finally, the bus comes that does not elicit terror, and as it rolls away, I turn to her and simply say, ‘Thank you’.’ 

Shocking: At the age of 22, Madeleine was hit by a bus while waiting on a footpath at Oxford Street in Sydney. In an previous Instagram post, Madeleine shared a photo of her injuries

 Shocking: At the age of 22, Madeleine was hit by a bus while waiting on a footpath at Oxford Street in Sydney. In an previous Instagram post, Madeleine shared a photo of her injuries

The actress said she sustained: 'Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye, one running beneath the brain shelf. This little bugger remained stubbornly open for some time, leaking air bubbles into my cerebral fluid and cerebral fluid into my mouth.' Pictured in 2002

The actress said she sustained: ‘Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye, one running beneath the brain shelf. This little bugger remained stubbornly open for some time, leaking air bubbles into my cerebral fluid and cerebral fluid into my mouth.’ Pictured in 2002 

Shocking: Madeline - who described how the impact caused her brain to 'ricochet' inside her skull like a 'ball between Nadal and Federer' - says that police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus

Shocking: Madeline – who described how the impact caused her brain to ‘ricochet’ inside her skull like a ‘ball between Nadal and Federer’ – says that police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus

Madeleine says while she has made strides towards facing her fears, she admitted: ‘To this day, I still go weak at the knees at the sight of a bus.’     

At the age of 22, Madeleine was hit by a bus while waiting on a footpath at Oxford Street in Sydney. 

In an previous Instagram post, Madeleine shared a photo of her injuries, and in a news.com.au interview, pulled no punches while describing them.

Recovery: She went on to explain that she made a full recovery - albeit with a 'bundle of scars, a bit of a stutter and a dodgy eyebrow'

 Recovery: She went on to explain that she made a full recovery – albeit with a ‘bundle of scars, a bit of a stutter and a dodgy eyebrow’

She explained: ‘Three skull fractures radiating from the orbital structure around my left eye, one running beneath the brain shelf. 

‘This little bugger remained stubbornly open for some time, leaking air bubbles into my cerebral fluid and cerebral fluid into my mouth.’

Madeline – who described how the impact caused her brain to ‘ricochet’ inside her skull like a ‘ball between Nadal and Federer’ – says police later told her the accident caused her makeup to leave an almost perfect imprint of her face on the bus.

Madeleine says while she has made strides towards facing her fears, she admitted: 'To this day, I still go weak at the knees at the sight of a bus'

Madeleine says while she has made strides towards facing her fears, she admitted: ‘To this day, I still go weak at the knees at the sight of a bus’

She went on to explain that that the fractures closed after ‘several days’ and, thankfully, she made a full recovery – albeit with a ‘bundle of scars, a bit of a stutter and a dodgy eyebrow’.  

Since March, the former Underbelly star and her six children have been staying at her home in Byron Bay amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Madeleine shares Phoenix, 14, Hendrix, 12, Xascha, nine, Xanthe, eight, and six-year-old twins Xalia and Margaux, with her ex-partner Shannon Bennett.

Home: Since March, the former Underbelly star and her six children have been staying at her home in Byron Bay amid the coronavirus pandemic

Home: Since March, the former Underbelly star and her six children have been staying at her home in Byron Bay amid the coronavirus pandemic