Teen left with ‘bomb-like injuries’ after being hit by tractor in horror …

A teenager who was left with 'bomb-like injuries' after she was hit by a tractor has told how she heartbreaking said "goodbye" to her parents.

Lucie Maguire was 19 when she had her right leg amputated, broke her back and suffered more internal injuries after she was hit by the vehicle. She was traveling back from her job as an apprentice nursery worker in January 2021 when her mum Sue's car started filling with 'horrible, black smoke.'

Lucie got out and went to help her mum out of the car when she was suddenly hit by a tractor[1] and dragged along the road, underneath its ten-tonne trailer. She was placed in an induced coma at Leeds General Infirmary[2] and her parents had been allowed visits to say their 'goodbyes' to their daughter.

Eye-catching Black Friday bundle sees massive 4K Samsung TV and soundbar drop to £700[3] Lucie in hospital Lucie in hospital ( Day One Trauma Support / SWNS) She had to say goodbye to her dad over the phone, fearing she would die She had to say goodbye to her dad over the phone, fearing she would die ( Day One Trauma Support / SWNS)

Medics feared Lucie, now 22, wouldn't survive the severe internal bleeding she experienced and didn't know if she would ever be able to sit up, let alone walk. The horrifying events unfolded after Lucie and her mum were travelling in the car along a rural road in North Yorkshire when they pulled over and got out as it was breaking down.

"My mum was driving me back home from work when the car started making funny noises and filled with horrible black smoke," she said. As Lucie headed round to the driver's side to help, she told of seeing "bright headlights" and thought help was coming. She recalled: "That's when I was hit by a tractor and dragged under its 10-tonne trailer. I was stuck under there going round continuously with the wheels and it spat me out a bit further down the road. I remember not feeling in pain. My right leg just felt uncomfortable. I wanted someone to straighten it for me as I couldn't. I told my parents how much I loved them. I accepted I was probably going to die because surely nobody survives what I'd just been through."

Lucie had been in a car with mum Sue when the collision happened Lucie had been in a car with mum Sue when the collision happened ( Day One Trauma Support / SWNS)

Lucie had her right leg amputated at the hip, broke her back and suffered internal injuries - she is still undergoing operations and needs to have her bladder removed. She spent months in hospital and had to re-learn how to sit up, stand up and then walk while holding a rail. NHS[4] staff even liaised with military doctors as they compared her injuries "to someone who had been blown up in Afghanistan[5]".

Lucie said: "When I woke up a month later in the intensive care unit I could see my mum at the foot of my bed and my dad was stroking my hair. The only way the doctor could explain my injuries was to compare me to someone who had been blown up in Afghanistan. I remember thinking 'wow, this is serious'."

Lucie had to re-learn how to walk and sit after her amputation Lucie had to re-learn how to walk and sit after her amputation ( Day One Trauma Support / SWNS) Lucie upright in bed with trauma staff at the hospital Lucie upright in bed with trauma staff at the hospital ( Day One Trauma Support / SWNS)

Lucie left hospital on June 28 last year - 518 days after the accident - and had to live in a makeshift bedroom in her parent's pub because she couldn't even use the stairs to access her family home above. She now uses a power-assisted wheelchair and lives as independently as she can in her own bungalow.

She said: "At times I felt like the pain was never going to end. There was no light at the end of tunnel. The hospital became my home. The staff became my family. It got to the stage where I didn't want to leave. I never thought I would enjoy life again. " Lucie is now backing an appeal for Day One Trauma Support, a charity helping victims of major physical trauma such as car crash survivors. You can support Day One Trauma's Christmas[6] appeal here[7].

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected][8]

References

  1. ^ hit by a tractor (www.mirror.co.uk)
  2. ^ Leeds General Infirmary (www.mirror.co.uk)
  3. ^ Eye-catching Black Friday bundle sees massive 4K Samsung TV and soundbar drop to £700 (www.mirror.co.uk)
  4. ^ NHS (www.mirror.co.uk)
  5. ^ Afghanistan (www.mirror.co.uk)
  6. ^ Christmas (www.mirror.co.uk)
  7. ^ here (www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk)
  8. ^ [email protected] (www.mirror.co.uk)

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