‘Not another idiot in Bali’: Aussie woman hits back at GoFundMe critics after Bali crash left her injured

An Australian woman who was left seriously injured in a horror scooter accident in Bali has hit back at criticism over her crowdfunding effort.

Amy Donohue, a remedial masseuse from the Gold Coast, had travelled to the Indonesian hot spot earlier in August to attend a close friend’s wedding.

While exploring a remote island, the young woman was riding on the back of a scooter when the vehicle lost control and tipped over — leaving her with serious injuries.

“The scooter and foot pedal landed on my leg, causing a very serious wound and significant blood loss,” Ms Donohue said of the accident.

Shortly after the incident, her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support the Queenslander through the financial toll of overseas hospital treatment — with the page quickly raising $11,000 in less than a week.

“The financial cost of the emergency evacuation, hospital treatment, ongoing medical care and getting her home is becoming overwhelming,” the GoFundMe page said.

Ms Donohue has since returned to Australia to continue her recovery, and has taken a moment to hit out at backlash she has faced over her medical fundraiser.

In a post to her Instagram followers, the masseuse said she had been wrongly portrayed as “just another idiot in Bali”.

“That’s simply not the case. I wasn’t riding recklessly. I wasn’t without a helmet. I wasn’t uninsured. This was a genuine accident,” she wrote in the post.

“Because we were on a remote island, the local hospital simply didn’t have the facilities to deal with an injury of that severity. I needed to be urgently evacuated to the mainland for treatment.”

The Australian woman explained she did have travel insurance, but was still facing a $30,000 medical bill despite the policy.

“I DID have travel insurance, and I was in contact with my insurance company throughout the process — however, the hospital in Bali required payment or confirmation of insurance before proceeding with the treatment and evacuation,” she said.

“When a scooter is involved, there is understandably a lot of information the insurance company needs, and the whole situation became incredibly complicated very quickly.

“I was in considerable pain, heavily medicated, and not thinking clearly . . . (My friends) set up a GoFundMe to try to cover the immediate costs and get treatment started rather than waiting for the insurance process to be completed.”

While she denied allegations that she was on an alcohol-fuelled bender at the time of the crash, she did accept she had erred by not being fully informed on her insurance terms.

“I made a mistake by not fully understanding the fine print of my insurance policy. I did not deliberately put myself in danger, I was not uninsured, and I certainly wasn’t on some week-long bender before my accident,” she said.

Images and videos from her fateful accident and the aftermath accompanied the Gold Coast local’s statement.

Vision showed the Australian being carried on a spinal board by paramedics towards a small boat, with a separate video showing the boat flying through the water.

Ms Donohue ended her statement by revealing she is feeling better, giving a huge thank you to those in her circle who supported her during her recovery.

“I’m incredibly grateful to be home safely, back with my family and surrounded by people who love me,” she said. “I’m home now, and my focus is on healing, recovering and getting stronger every day ❤️‍🩹”.

While there is no data available on how many Australians have faced scooter crashes in Bali annually, Southern Cross Travel Insurance revealed that it received 21 claims from Aussies related to scooter or moped incidents in Bali during 2024 — including two that resulted in hospitalisation.