Steve Zimmermann and Leela Klein wed in hospital nuptials after alleged hit and run crash in Geraldton

Steve Zimmermann and Leela Klein have already proven they will be there for each other in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. They didn’t need a piece of paper for that. But yesterday the German couple made it official and reaffirmed their love and commitment to each other, on the fourth anniversary of the day they met. Their wedding didn’t go according to script — rather than it being held on the Geraldton foreshore, Steve and Leela exchanged vows at Fiona Stanley Hospital surrounded by a small group of friends and family members on Zoom. Excited hospital staff were on hand to help decorate the makeshift wedding venue. It is in the hospital’s rehabilitation unit where Steve is recovering after he was left paralysed and facing life in a wheelchair when his neck was broken during a road-rage incident in Geraldton on April 1. A driver allegedly ran down Steve on his bike following a verbal altercation moments earlier. But wedding celebrant Brid Hutchinson said she, along with many others, were touched when she saw Leela and Steve’s story in the media, and volunteered her services. She said the ceremony was extra special because of the couple’s circumstances, but Steve and Leela were adamant they didn’t want their big day to be about the incident that resulted in Steve’s shocking injuries. “They are positive and really excited. Leela mentioned to me she was quite nervous and I told her all brides are nervous, no matter the circumstances,” Ms Hutchinson said. “I was touched by what happened because they were here (in Australia) for a better life and then their world gets turned upside down in 30 seconds.” Steve and Leela wrote their own wedding vows, and it’s believed they spoke them in German, while a “ring warming” was held, with the wedding rings passed around to everyone so they could come back to the bride and groom warmed by good wishes and love. Previously, Steve said he wouldn’t know what he would do without Leela. “She’s with me and by my side, she’s so strong,” he said. Leela has described how grateful she is that Steve survived the horror crash. “I am just so happy that he’s here ... he’s alive and I told him no matter what the future will bring, when you’re in a wheelchair or when you can walk, I will stay with you and be with you,” she said last month. The couple had been travelling around Australia since November 2019, arriving in Geraldton in January this year and planning their wedding in the port city, with Steve working at the crayfish factory and Leela in remedial sports therapy. They were also planning to apply for permanent residency. They were determined to stick with their May 20 wedding date.