Forty participants began the 100-kilometer event that RacingThePlanet was holding that September day. The competitors could only cover a fourth of the distance before the nearby grass and bushes took fire.

Although these kinds of fires are frequent in Australia this time of year, the organizers neglected to take safety precautions beforehand, and numerous athletes, including Turia, were engulfed in flames.
The girl decided to go straight through the flames as it continued to get hotter. She thus sustained third-degree burns, with 65% of her body being scorched.

Turia was one of the contestants in the Miss Australia competition and had a career as a model before the catastrophe. She worked as a mining engineer in a diamond mine.
She dated Michael, a high school classmate.
The girl said that she lived up to her wildest expectations. But in a split second, everything was altered. She remembered asking herself why the doctors saved her life during that horrible time in the hospital.