Mandy’s plea for road safety after life-changing crash

In November 2005, Mandy Adams was on her way to a work event in Belfast when her life took an unexpected and dramatic turn.

What started as a routine journey along the A5 at Garvaghy ended in a devastating collision with a lorry, leaving Mandy with serious injuries and a shocking discovery: She was pregnant.

As Road Safety Week highlights the dangers on our roads, Mandy reflects on how fortunate she is to have survived and urges others to take care.

Nineteen years on, Mandy still gets flashbacks to the crash, leaving her and her passenger seriously injured.

The impact left Mandy with broken toes, a severely damaged wrist, and abdominal injuries. It was only during treatment in hospital that doctors discovered she was pregnant. Just weeks later, her baby girl was born prematurely.

“It was terrifying,” Mandy recalls. “The first thing I noticed was the smoke from the car. Then I started screaming. The fire service and paramedics had to cut me out.”

At the hospital, Mandy was shocked to learn she was pregnant. “It was touch and go whether my baby girl would survive. She spent ten weeks in hospital, but she battled through.”

A long recovery

Balancing her own injuries, a newborn, and an older child with health challenges wasn’t easy for Mandy.

“The shock of the crash hit me later. One minute you’re driving, and the next, your life changes forever,” she said.

“A friend of mine was in the car as well and we were both really lucky not to have been killed. I felt really bad about what happened. It wasn’t my fault, but I felt responsible.

The trauma had lasting effects. Mandy still has limited movement in nre wrist and developed epilepsy two years after the collision, likely as a result of the crash. She also suffered depression and found driving impossible.

“Even now, I feel nervous passing the spot where it happened. I haven’t driven in nearly 17 years,” she said.

Reflecting on her experience, Mandy is grateful to be alive but deeply empathises with those who have lost loved ones or endured life-changing injuries due to road accidents.

“This is Road Safety week and I just think about how lucky I am to be alive. It could easily have been so very different for myself, my passenger and my baby on that evening in 2005,” she said.

“We all need to be careful and stop the carnage on our roads.”