Latest news with #survivorsguilt
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
I escaped the Liverpool parade crash by INCHES after diving out of the road - one lucky thing saved my life but now I'm wracked with guilt
A guest on Good Morning Britain opened up about how she escaped the Liverpool parade crash by mere inches after diving out of the road - but confessed that she's now riddled with guilt. Chelsea Yuen appeared on the ITV show on Tuesday to talk to Ed Balls, 58, and Susanna Reid, 54, about the terrifying event, which took place on Monday in the northern city. Several people have been injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans on Water Street during their Premier League victory parade yesterday (27 May 2025) evening. Eyewitness Chelsea heard the driver slamming his horn, which prompted her to roll out of the way, and although she's grateful to be alive, she is suffering with survivor's guilt. Recalling what had happened, Chelsea said: 'When the car came plummeting down it was inevitable it was going to hit people.' She added: 'Absolutely everybody was walking up the street. Chelsea Yuen (right) appeared on the ITV show on Tuesday to talk to Ed Balls, 58, and Susanna Reid, 54, about the terrifying event which took place on Monday in the northern city 'When we heard the beeping of the driver that was coming through the crowds, that's when we looked up and seen the car coming towards us. 'We just narrowly missed being hit and we were able to jump out the way into as much safety as we could be. 'Then unfortunately it carried on and continued into the other people behind us.' Ed then pointed out that neither Chelsea or her family members were hurt, but that it was a traumatic experience that will haunt her forever. Chelsea said: 'We were grateful that we were safe, we weren't hurt but then we almost feel guilty now that children were hurt. 'The tragedy is a lot worse than we thought it was at the time. 'We didn't know what it was, we didn't know whether it was a tower or somebody or drunk or even somebody who had a heart attack while drinking. 'We just didn't know what it was. 'So we were angry at first, then scared when we started seeing the people lying on the floor as we walked up the street a bit further.' Susanna said: 'Obviously, shocking that four people got trapped underneath the car and firefighters had to lift the car and one of those people was a child. 'That makes it so much more upsetting, doesn't it? 'This is what is so shocking. 'It's a family event, families everywhere, prams, kids on their dads' shoulders. 'Although it's an obscene amount of people that have been hurt, seriously hurt, I'm surprised there wasn't more. 'But it hurts more that there were kids involved.' British police said they had arrested a 53-year-old white male, and that the incident was not terrorism related. The Liverpool Echo reported that a total of 47 people were injured, with 27 taken to hospital, including an adult and a child in serious condition. Four people are still 'very, very ill in hospital,' Steve Rotheram, the city's metro mayor, told the BBC. 'There are still four people who are very, very ill in hospital and we are hoping of course that they pull through very, very quickly, he said. Nick Searle, a spokesman for the region's fire and rescue service said four people who were trapped under the minivan, including a child, were rescued by firefighters. Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
Man's head left hanging on by just his skin after he was internally decapitated in horror crash
A MAN was told he was the most broken patient paramedics had ever seen after being internally decapitated in a car crash. Simon Clark, now 45, suffered severe brain trauma, more than two dozen major fractures, multiple organ damage and tore a two inch hole in the main artery carrying blood from his heart. 5 5 Tragically the accident also claimed the life of his partner Lindy, who had been driving when their car swerved into the path of an oncoming car on a blind bend. Simon doesn't remember much more than a loud bang and intense pain in his left hip. His next memory was of lying in the long grass with rain falling on his face. 'I took the full impact on my left side which is why I sustained so many broken bones,' he says. 'I shattered the top three vertebrae and completely separated my skull from my spine. My head was only held on by skin, muscle, nerves and other tissue. Basically, my head was flopping around like a chicken with its neck broken.' Simon was put into a coma at the scene by the medics of the Great Western Air Ambulance and remembers nothing until two months later where he received the devastating news that the love of his life had died in the collision. Paralysed and unable to speak, he was also told that he would never walk, eat or breathe independently again. 'I just had to lay there and listen to the never-ending horror story that was my prognosis,' he says. 'My brain was screaming at this point. I lurched from extreme survivor's guilt to wanting to end it all. 'I even tried to bite my tongue off at one point but luckily I didn't have the strength to do much more than make it very sore. 'Not being able to pick my sons up for a cuddle rips me to pieces,' says dad after crash 'The worst moments were lying in that hospital bed not long after leaving ICU, when all of the staff had finished for the day and my visitors had left. 'I would be left there in the dark, unable to move, unable to do anything for myself, barely able to speak. I had spent the majority of the day counting the dimples in the ceiling tiles and now I just had the beeping of the machines for company.' Simon spent the long hours in total anguish and turmoil, wishing for death to take him. 'I truly wanted to die. Just to end the pain and torture of knowing my life was over and I'd never got to say goodbye to Lindy,' he says. 'Just bad luck' The cause of the crash in October 2019 will remain forever a mystery. Police told Simon his partner was not speeding, had not been drinking and had done nothing suspicious. They concluded it was a genuine accident and 'just bad luck.' Physically shattered and emotionally traumatised, he struggled to see any way forward. But as the days and weeks wore on, Simon made a remarkable discovery. He found that he could control his thoughts and in doing so, could decide to recover beyond a life of living in a hospital bed. I made the firm decision that I would walk out of the hospital on my own two feet without any assistance, within six months of the accident Simon Clark 'I decided I would not stop until I was fitter and stronger than I was before the accident. I made the firm decision that I would walk out of the hospital on my own two feet without any assistance, within six months of the accident,' he says. Incredibly he did just that. 'I had nothing else to work with so I began to try and regain control of my mind,' he says. 'I didn't have use of my body anymore so I had to try and save a tiny piece of Simon. I built a little fort in my mind where Simon could hide from all the horrible things that were happening. 'After many months of mental anguish and physical pain my body started to respond. "At first it was just being able to blink, when I had mastered that I was able to communicate with my family by spelling out words by blinking while they ran their fingers along a board with letters printed on it. "Then I moved on to trying to wiggle a finger, and then maybe move my foot. It was an incredibly slow, frustrating period of slowly trying to move every single limb and then building up the strength so I could use them. "Learning to walk again has been the most painful of all of my recovery." 'Nordic walking helped me' After he left hospital, Simon discovered Nordic Walking thanks to the help of his physiotherapist Melissa Domaile. The method is an enhanced walking technique that uses poles to work your entire body not just your legs. 'So many physios told me all the things I would never do again,' he says. 'But Melissa took the time to get to know me and she saw my drive, she saw my love of the mountains and what I was willing to give to get back to them, to have a full and meaningful life again. 'Nordic Walking helped me walk a few paces without getting out of breath, which turned into walking around a football field then walking the Everest Base Camp Trail less than five years after the accident.' He has also trekked the Icelandic Highlands, climbed Mount Toubkal in Northern Africa and is now training to walk to the North Pole, determined to show that recovery - while painful and slow - is possible in the face of overwhelming odds. 5 5 5 Simon, who had been working as an estate agent at the time of the crash, is still far from well. He is in constant pain, struggles with exhaustion and carries deep emotional scars from the accident. He suffers from PTSD and crippling bouts of anxiety and depression, as well as nerve pain and brain damage. 'I still have a lot of problems with my heart and lungs,' he says. 'I'm working on about a third of my lung capacity and my heart beats frantically which can result in me passing out. 'I was warned by cardiologists not to let my heart rate go above 120 bpm as it will most likely cause a heart attack. Unfortunately just walking across a car park puts my heart above that. 'While training I am often in the 150-160 bpm range and on the way to Everest I pushed to 186 bpm. 'I will also need to travel to Svalbard very soon to do some cold weather testing and training to see how my body responds to extreme cold as I currently don't feel any temperature changes. For me all weather conditions feel like spring.' But Simon has to keep going. He knows moving his body is excellent therapy. 'The best recovery from all of this has been physical exercise, learning to get my life back and rebuilding my body, then simply just getting out into nature,' he says. 'A walk in the hills cures most problems and those that it can't, it puts into perspective.' How to cope with the effects of a traumatic event Accessing and accepting support from others It is very comforting to receive physical and emotional support from other people. It is important not to reject support by trying to appear strong, or trying to cope completely on your own. Talking to others who have had similar experiences, or understand what you have been through, is particularly important - it can allow you to release pent up feelings and enable barriers to be removed and closer relationships to develop. Some friends may be reluctant to push their support forward even though they would like to help - do not be afraid to ask and say what you want. Research has shown that social support and community networks are important and can facilitate psychological recovery. Taking time out for yourself In order to deal with your feelings, you will at times find it necessary to be alone, or just be with close friends or/and family. Confronting what has happened Confronting the reality of the situation, e.g. by talking to a friend, can (instead of will) help you come to terms with the event. Staying active Helping others, keeping busy, maintaining usual routines where possible can be helpful. Returning to your usual routine It is usually advisable to return to your usual routine as soon as possible after the event in order to avoid incubation and magnification of fear while away from the situation. Source: NHS
BBC News
08-05-2025
- BBC News
Nottingham attacks survivors speak out for the first time
For Wayne Birkett and Sharon Miller, the morning of 13 June 2023 started like any both, separately, got ready for work and caught buses into Nottingham city centre, but what happened shortly after would change their lives - along with Marcin Gawronski - were struck by a van driven by Valdo Calocane, leaving all three pedestrians seriously in the day, Calocane had fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Sharon and Wayne have told their stories for the first time and explained how they feel a strong sense of survivor's day started at home with her partner Martin, who she was looking forward to marrying after more than 30 happy years together. After finishing her morning cup of tea, the mother-of-one made her way to the bus stop, ready to catch her daily ride to her job as a was early in the morning - shortly before 05:00 BST - and her bus was delayed, leaving her worried she would be late for her made her way into the city centre and got off the bus as normal, but her journey to work ended as she crossed Market Street."I saw the van, and the next minute I'm in the air," she said. "I thought I was dying - all I could see was white."Sharon was rushed to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre with life-changing injuries."I broke my toe, five ribs, I lacerated my spleen, and I've got a big hole in the back of my leg that got badly infected," she said. Sharon, 46, now uses a walking stick and, given the physical demands of her job, has been unable to return to work after suffering serious orthopaedic and psychological trauma."I'm still in a lot of pain with my leg and my back, but I'm getting there," she a happy and sociable person who enjoyed trips out with friends and family, Sharon now only feels safe in the comfort of her own home."Martin and my family, and my grandkids make me happy, but I don't like going out," Sharon explained. "I was never like that before." Wayne had been on his way to his job as a forklift driver in the city centre when Calocane deliberately swerved across the road and drove into the back of spent more than six weeks in hospital with complex brain and physical injuries and, unlike Sharon, has no recollection of what fact, the 61-year-old struggles to recall any part of his life prior to 13 June injuries were so severe that he has had to re-learn basic skills such as reading, cleaning his teeth, and holding his knife and a tattoo on his arm - a tribute to his beloved Leeds United - was unfamiliar, and when he looked at it, he had to ask his family what it represented."My legs hurt all the time, my back hurts, I get headaches all the time and it's horrible not having any memory and not remembering people you've known and worked for," said Wayne, whose partner Tracey has cared for him since the attacks. One thing Sharon and Wayne have in common is the survivor's guilt they have both lived with since the attacks."Tracey tells me off for saying this, but I would have swapped my life for one of those poor students - without a doubt," Wayne said. "It was awful hearing what happened to them [in the court case]. What happened to me was nothing compared to that."Sharon added: "When I heard what had happened to Barnaby or Grace, I thought, 'I wish he'd took me instead of them'. "They were so young and still had their lives ahead of them - you just feel so guilty."You should be able to go to work, and they should be able to walk around; Ian should have been able to get into his van and go to work. "It's just so wrong." Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks, was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted BBC has taken the decision not to publish a picture of Calocane in this feature at the request of the surviving said: "It's constantly on the news all the time, and I'm constantly seeing his face on the news. "Why keep showing his face?"The case has prompted a number of reviews, including a mental health homicide review commissioned by NHS earlier this year, Sharon and Wayne, alongside the families of Mr Webber, Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates, were invited to Downing Street to discuss plans for a judge-led public inquiry. They both plan to engage fully with the inquiry, set to be chaired by Her Honour Deborah Taylor, and hope it will provide answers that lead to meaningful changes to help prevent similar incidents in the Almond, partner and solicitor at Rothera Bray, representing both Sharon and Wayne, said it was "crucial for the survivors to be central to the inquiry"."They want to put their story across and make sure they're not forgotten survivors," he added.
