A student has issued a stark warning about the dangers of quad bikes after she was trapped under one when it plunged off a cliff on her birthday.
Maddy Morris, a 24 year old student nurse from near Manchester, was holidaying in Corfu, Greece, with her best mate when their quad biking adventure turned into a nightmare. Just one day into their trip, the pair suffered a terrifying accident that left Maddy unconscious and both of them with serious injuries.
The duo had rented the quad bike to tour the scenic island and were out celebrating Maddy’s birthday when disaster struck. Two hours into their journey, the bike veered off a cliff edge, sending them plummeting nearly 10 feet before the vehicle landed on top of them.
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Maddy suspects a mechanical issue or rough terrain caused the mishap.
Following the harrowing ordeal, kind-hearted strangers rescued them from the roadside and they were whisked away to hospital. Despite the trauma, Maddy considers herself fortunate to have survived and is now imploring other young travellers to avoid quad bikes like the plague, reports the Mirror.
Reflecting on the incident, Maddy recounted: “We were only driving 20mph so we weren’t going fast or anything. I was driving and my friend was on the back. The day of the accident was actually my birthday. We were around an hour and a half into the drive and were up quite high, but far away from the edge.”
“There were loads of cars overtaking us so we were going really slow. We just unexpectedly went off the edge of the cliff, luckily we landed on a ledge as the cliff went down to the sea. We were flown off and went down a 7ft drop then the quad bike ended up on top of us both. We don’t know if it was a faulty bike or dodgy terrain or lost control of the steering. I thought I was going to die. I was seeing visions of people I loved as I was falling. I’d been on quad bikes before so knew how to drive them. It was very unexpected. We don’t know why it tilted down the cliff.”
“You never think something like this is going to happen to you. I must’ve blacked out because I remember waking up on the ground – it was very scary. The wheels were still running when it was on top of us so I think that’s why I got so many injuries on my left side. I managed to squeeze out a bit through a gap as we were both pinned underneath it. We were pinned for a few minutes. Luckily there were people driving behind us who were able to push the quad bike from on top of us. We could’ve easily fallen further. I’m so glad I was wearing my helmet.”
After a horrendous quad bike crash left Maddy severely injured, including a fractured shoulder blade and various surface wounds, the plucky student is now raising the alarm on the dangers of quad biking. She recounted her terrifying experience, noting: “I thought I’d broken the whole left side of my body because I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t have insurance so I’ve learned my lesson there – we had to pay for treatment.
“We self-charged because we wanted to enjoy the rest of the week. It had ruined my birthday. I’ll never go on a quad bike again. I thought I would be fine because I’d been on quad bikes before – and it’s just the norm out there, everyone drives one. I thought I was safe. I wouldn’t advise renting a quad bike to anyone. They’re deathtraps. My helmet definitely saved my life.”
“I thought I’d broken the whole left side of my body because I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t have insurance so I’ve learned my lesson there – we had to pay for treatment. We self-charged because we wanted to enjoy the rest of the week. It had ruined my birthday.
“I’ll never go on a quad bike again. I thought I would be fine because I’d been on quad bikes before – and it’s just the norm out there, everyone drives one. I thought I was safe. I wouldn’t advise renting a quad bike to anyone. They’re deathtraps. My helmet definitely saved my life.”
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