Friends survive horror a5 crash

WHAT was supposed to be a fun day out at a gig in Dublin almost ended in tragedy for two friends after they were involved in a head-on crash when travelling between Sion Mills and Newtownstewart.

Siobhan Gibbons and Ciara McVeigh-Lunn were on their way to see Westlife in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday when they were involved in a crash.

The two friends were on the main A5 when a silver car collided with the Ford Kuga they were travelling in. The silver car had been hit from behind by a third vehicle which pushed it directly into the path of Siobhan, who was driving, and Ciara in the passenger seat.

While Siobhan was able to get out of the car, Ciara was not immediately able to escape from the passenger seat.

Members of the public made the decision to lift her out as the car had started to catch fire.

They were both transferred by ambulance to Altnagelvin Area Hospital, where their injuries were treated.

Mum-of-two Siobhan suffered multiple fractures, including two broken ankles, a broken sternum, a broken arm, and a dislocated shoulder. She underwent surgery on Tuesday for damage to her arm, and to one of her ankles.

Initially, medics thought that Ciara had escaped without breaking any bones. But further scans have revealed a suspected fracture in her left hand. She also sustained internal bleeding as well as serious bruising to her knees, back, wrists and hips. At the moment she is only able to walk with the aid of a zimmer frame but is expected to recover her mobility.

In a stroke of good luck a friend of the two women, Elaina Gallagher, was on her way back from Dublin having been at Westlife the night before. She and her friend Marina came upon the carnage were able to contact Ciara’s husband, Timmy.

Timmy said the two pals – both from Letterkenny – were fortunate to get out of the wreckage at all and that the outcome could have been a lot more grim.

“They were lucky they were in the Kuga as it was the higher of the two vehicles. That definitely would have helped,” he said.

“But it’s one of those things, you get the phone call and you go into panic mode.

“From Ciara’s point of view, she hairdresses during the day and then has her fitness classes four evenings a week and on a Saturday morning. She is going to be out of action for a while and it will probably be eight to ten weeks before she is ready to go again.

“Siobhan was less lucky and she will be out of work for a while which will be a big loss to her.

“It will be a slow recovery for them both but at the same time they were lucky because it could have went the other way very quickly,” Timmy added.

Initially, medics thought that Ciara had escaped without breaking any bones. But further scans have revealed a suspected fracture in her left hand. She also sustained internal bleeding, as well as serious bruising to her knees, back, wrists and hips. At the moment, she is only able to walk with the aid of a zimmer frame, but is expected to recover her mobility.

In a stroke of good luck, a friend of the two women, Elaina Gallagher, was on her way back from Dublin having been at Westlife the night before. She and her friend Marina came upon the carnage were able to contact Ciara’s husband, Timmy.

Timmy said the two pals – both from Letterkenny – were fortunate to get out of the wreckage at all, and that the outcome could have been a lot more grim.

“They were lucky they were in the Kuga, as it was the higher of the two vehicles. That definitely would have helped,” he said.

“But it’s one of those things, you get the phone call, and you go into panic mode.

“From Ciara’s point of view, she hairdresses during the day, and then has her fitness classes four evenings a week, and on a Saturday morning. She is going to be out of action for a while and it will probably be eight-to-ten weeks before she is ready to go again.

“Siobhan was less lucky, and she will be out of work for a while, which will be a big loss to her.

“It will be a slow recovery for them both, but at the same time, they were lucky, because it could have went the other way very quickly,” Timmy added.