A paramedic left fighting for life after a head-on crash south of Perth has come out of sedation and opened his eyes, but it is not known if he will be fully mobile again.
Wesley Ackerman was seriously injured when the ambulance he was travelling in hit a dual-cab ute just before 5am on Monday in Oldbury.
The ambulance was on its way to a non-urgent job and carrying no patients.
St John Ambulance general manager of metro operations James Sherriff said the 33-year-old father of three had started communicating as sedation, which had helped him rest and heal from the trauma of the accident, was gradually reduced.
He was an extremely fit young man and making good progress but it was hard to say if he would make a full recovery, Mr Sherriff said.
Mr Ackerman was trapped in the wreckage for more than an hour, crushing his lower body, so it is not yet known whether he will regain full mobility.
"It's still early days," Mr Sherriff told reporters on Friday.
"Meeting with Wesley today, he opens his eyes as soon as you start talking to him, he frowns and he grabs your hand and really squeezes nice and tight.
"You ask him questions and he can reply by nodding and shaking his head."
Mr Sherriff said the crash scene was very confronting for Mr Ackerman's colleagues but their response went like clockwork.
"The sight of the ambulance - you wouldn't expect anybody to come out of it. It was really crumpled to beyond recognition.
"The van was just on its head, Wesley was stuck upside down, trapped in there for over an hour."
His wife, Odile Ackerman, said the family had been overwhelmed by offers of support, including from emergency medical services around the world.
More than $35,000 has been raised on crowdfunding website mycause to support him.
"The offer of services, cooked meals and financial assistance has been unbelievable," she said in a statement.
"I am looking forward to being able to tell Wesley when he wakes up about all this and he will not be able comprehend it either.
"We will take one day at a time and we know that we have a long road ahead of us in terms of Wesley's recovery."
Mr Ackerman's colleague, Sharron Price, 44, who was driving the ambulance, suffered minor injuries and has been discharged from hospital and is recovering well.
Police have charged the ute driver, a 32-year-old man from Oldbury, with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm.
He is due to appear in Armadale Magistrates Court on November 8.
On Tuesday, police charged a woman who allegedly sped through the crash scene about three-and-a-half hours after the collision, disturbing debris and forcing police officers to move out of the way to avoid being hit.
She allegedly went through road blocks and ignored instructions to stop.
When the 42-year-old was stopped in Fremantle later that day, police allegedly found illegal drugs in her car, which was impounded for 28 days.
She will appear in court next month.
