A 38-year-old mother of two may have suffered life-changing injuries when a golf ball rocketed through the open window of a taxi fracturing her skull.
Natasha Cossell spent two weeks in hospital following the freak incident in Melbourne's west, which police suspect was the result of kids skylarking around and throwing things at cars.
After brain surgery to remove pieces of bone fragments in her head, Ms Cossell has an anxious wait to find out if she's been permanently injured.
The IBM resource manager had trouble speaking and walking for days after the incident and won't be able to drive for at least three months.
"Nobody can actually predict how long it's going to be, in terms of being able to go back to work and being able to concentrate and do the problem solving and all those kinds of things that I did before," she told reporters on Friday.
She urged whoever threw or hit the golf ball at the taxi to turn themselves in.
"I would just like to see them to come forward and own up so that they can understand what they've done and the impact it's had on my life and my family's life," she said.
"My children have been without me for nearly two weeks, they're six and seven, and that's not right."
Ms Cossell, who moved to Melbourne from Sydney recently, had been at a birthday party when she caught a cab home from Sanctuary Lakes at around 2am (AEDT) on February 28.
She was in the front seat of the taxi with the window rolled down as they passed a golf course when she suddenly felt intense pain.
"I just remember the excruciating pain down the side of my face, and it filled my head," she said.
The taxi driver found a golf ball in the car and called triple-zero.
But a police investigator was not assigned to the case for two weeks - after her family had already come forward with her story to a community newspaper.
Detective Senior Constable Arnaud Lenferna said he hoped the investigation wasn't hindered by the delay, but he could not explain why police did not respond sooner.
"I'm not in a position to answer any questions in relation to that," he said.
While the incident happened beside a golf course, police believe it was far more likely to be the result of kids either throwing or hitting the ball at the car than a golfer on the course, since it was 2am.
"And there has been other incidents like that ... but nothing that has resulted in serious injuries," Det Sen Const Lenferna said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers.
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