Dad crushed between two lorries in crash shows scars as he was …
A dad who was crushed between two lorries in a horror motorway[1] crash suffered “catastrophic injuries[2]” that left him fighting for his life[3].
Joe Bedford, 52, told EssexLive[4] he was “very close to dying” after his Renault van stopped at the end of a queue of traffic on the M11 near the exit junction for Harlow on February 13, 2019, and was smashed into by the lorry behind, causing his vehicle to crash into the truck in front.
Joe doesn’t have any recollection of his accident – his last memory was from the weekend prior to the collision and his first memory afterward was of waking up in critical care at Addenbrooke’s hospital[5], Cambridge, almost three weeks later.
“It was a bit of a shock when I finally came around,” he said.
The incident took place when Joe stopped at a traffic queue on the M11 near Harlow (stock) (Image: Tim Graham/Getty Images)
“I had a tracheotomy, a breathing tube, in my neck, a lot of things connected to me.
“I was very confused. I didn’t know where I was. I had no recollection of the collision.”
Joe was left with a skull fracture, fractured vertebrae, a brain injury and seven broken ribs after the crash and spent nearly a month in hospital recovering.
He underwent a combination of physical and neurological rehab following the crash, which he described as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done”.
The incident also took its toll psychologically – Joe said it’s taken him a long time to come to terms with what happened and to readjust to life after the crash.
Joe’s injuries were described in court as ‘catastrophic’ (Image: Joe Bedford)
And despite all his treatment, Joe has been left with lasting consequences from the accident.
He now has problems with his memory and struggles with being in crowds or around too much noise. He was also unable to go back to his old job, which was “devastating.”
Joe said: “I loved my job. I lived for my job.”
A trial was held at Basildon Crown Court[7] in April 2023 following the incident in which the lorry driver behind Joe, Ivan Zhyhan, was found guilty of dangerous driving.
The court heard Zhyhan had still been doing 46 to 48mph when he hit the back of Joe’s van, causing what were described to the jury as “catastrophic injuries”.
Joe and his family are now hoping to move on and will be moving house soon (Image: Joe Bedford)
But despite the serious impact the incident had on Joe’s life, the trial against Zhyhan took four years to be heard in court.
“The court system considered it a traffic offence,” Joe said. “At the end of the day, I was very close to dying, he nearly killed me.”
The trial also brought back painful emotions for Joe, in particular when he had to watch some of the dashcam footage that was played in court, including film from inside Zhyhan’s lorry cab in which he could be seed dancing around and taking his hands off the wheel before reacting to the stationary queue of traffic just one second before the crash.
Joe added: “It just took my breath away, to be honest. It really affected me that night.”
Now things are looking up for Joe, who has been receiving therapy in addition to his rehab, and will be moving house soon along with his family
But when the jury returned with a guilty verdict against Zhyhan, Joe said: “I felt empty. It was the right decision, obviously, but I felt so empty afterwards.”
He’s also now lined up a part-time job, which will see him working two to three days a week.
He said: “Things are nowhere near as good as they used to be, but we just have to make the best of it.”
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References
- ^ motorway (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ injuries (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ life (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ EssexLive (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ hospital (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ Bloke leads cops on 145mph car chase minutes after being banned from driving (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ Court (www.dailystar.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.dailystar.co.uk)