Virginia Giuffre has said she is “overwhelmed with gratitude” for the support she received after saying she had days to live.
The woman – who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault – said in a post on Instagram on Monday she was told she had “four days to live” after her vehicle was hit by a school bus.
In a statement seen by Sky News on Tuesday, her family said Ms Giuffre was “overwhelmed with gratitude” and “remains in serious condition while receiving medical care”.
Her family said a school bus hit her car in rural western Australia on 24 March, adding: “The police were called but said that there was no one available to come to the scene.
“They asked if anyone was injured and suggested that if they were, they should make their way to the hospital.
“The school bus driver had a bus full of distraught children and left the scene to get them back, saying he would file a police report, which he did later.”
The family added that Ms Giuffre was “banged up and bruised and returned home” but her condition “worsened and she was admitted to the hospital”.
Regarding her post, the family said she “thought that she had posted on her private Facebook page”.
Ms Giuffre originally said she was told “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure” and that “I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time”.
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Australian police said after Ms Giuffre’s post that they received a report of a “minor crash” between a school bus and a car in Neergabby, about 12 miles north of Perth, on 24 March.
A spokesperson for the East Metropolitan Health Service, which runs Royal Perth Hospital, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, however, that Ms Giuffre was not at any of their facilities.
A Western Australia Public Transport Authority spokesperson also told ABC that they were unaware of any such bus crashes.
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
