Holidaymaker’s face left trying like ‘ground meat’ after horror quad bike accident in jungle

A holidaymaker has revealed her horror after she was left looking like “ground meat” when she slammed into a tree at full force while quad biking through the jungle on a cruise trip.

Shontaneece Brooks had boarded a seven-day Western Caribbean Carnival Cruise Line with her mum Colondra Wilson, 49, on February 28th this year, when they decided to take part in an excursion.

The ship had docked at its first port in Honduras in Central America and the 30-year-old forked out $120 for the trip which included riding a four-wheel ATV through the jungle.

But as Shontaneece drove the vehicle through the trees at 20 miles per hour, she hit a root in the ground, ejecting her from the seat and throwing her ‘full force’ into a tree.

When Colondra first saw her daughter post-accident she said her face looked like ‘ground meat’, her nose had separated from her face and she’d lost all but one of her teeth.

Heartbreaking photos show Shontaneece’s face swollen and covered in cuts.

After being taken back onto the cruise ship, Colondra claims medics on board said she needed to seek further treatment at the local hospital due to the severity of her injuries.

After treatment locally, she was then life-flighted back to Florida, US, on March 4th for plastic surgery where she is currently still being cared for.

At this hospital, Shontaneece also underwent an operation to have a plate put in her right arm after breaking it in two places during the crash.

While riding the ATV, the mum-of-three claims her daughter was wearing a helmet but admits she had never driven a vehicle like this before.

The carer is now speaking out about her daughter’s accident to warn others about the importance of being careful on excursions if you have never done the activity before.

Colondra, from Beaumont in Texas, US, said: “She had never ridden one before and she was going faster than she wanted to so she kept hitting the brakes and stopping because she was afraid.

“On the last time of her hitting the brakes, she hit the brakes at the exact same time she hit a root in the ground.

“When she hit the root in the ground she was already going around 15 to 20 miles per hour and so when she hit that root it ejected her.

“The handlebar started going crazy and she was ejected from the four-wheeler and her body landed into a tree at full force.

“[After being told about her injury], I kept asking, ‘where is my daughter?’ and then a man told me they were ‘coming up with the body’.

“As they’re coming up, I see her in the back of the truck and her face is covered up with a sheet, and I remember falling to my knees and praying to God.

“But then I heard her voice. They had covered her face up as they didn’t want anything to fall on her face and cause an infection.

“All of her teeth were busted out of her mouth and her face was sliced open. Her face looked like ground meat dripping in blood.

“The strip part at the bottom of her nose was separated from her face, and inside her mouth you could see teeth sitting in her jaw.

“This accident with her face being torn like this, it’s giving her the feeling that she’ll never get married and she’s going to be the ugly duckling.”

While at the local medical centre in Honduras, Colonadra claims she was forced to pay $5,000 up front before her daughter could receive any medical treatment as she didn’t have any insurance.

She then claims it took them eight hours to treat her face and 24 hours to wrap her broken arm in gauge.

Colondra says she didn’t take out travel insurance as she believed her US medical insurance would cover if needed.

Despite this, she feels Carnival Cruise Line needs to have a better system and facilities in place for their travellers if they are to fall ill or get hurt at tourist stops on their route.

Colondra said: “I’m angry because of the treatment she [my daughter] received. She’s so sweet and so kind and for the [local] hospital to be so heartless and I was angry with the Carnival Cruise Line.

“As a mum I feel so hopeless. I could have lost my daughter.

“All the hospital cared about was money and they needed a better system.

“I told Carnival Cruise Line that they need to do better with the hospital in place [to help out].

“This is a tourist site and there needs to be a decent spot where you can go if you’re hurt.

“My child laid there for eight hours before they did anything with her face and 24 hours before they wrapped her arm in gauge.

“We booked the excursion ourselves but it was the same excursion they were advertising on the cruise that she went on.

“I would say, don’t let your first experience be on an excursion. Number two, make sure you always have travel insurance for a cruise.

“If you don’t have it, it can make it hard for you to get home. I would also have the cruise line’s numbers with you, in case you need to contact them in an emergency.

“It’s a wakeup call. Don’t take life for granted.”

Colondra’s cousin has now set up a GoFundMe to help with medical bills, new teeth costs, and living expenses as Colondra is currently unable to work while she cares for her daughter.