Countryfile presenter Sammi Kinghorn has opened up about the harrowing incident that left her paralysed from the waist down.
The TV star, who grew up on her family's farm in Scotland, was just 14 when she climbed onto her dad's forklift and tragically got crushed.
The Paralympian recalled playing on their farm during a massive snowstorm in December 2010 when her father Neil had been using the forklift to clear snow and had no idea his daughter was there.
Recalling the moment to OK! magazine, she mentioned how she decided to climb onto part of the forklift on impulse, not fully understanding why, but thinking it might have been to impress other children.
However, her dad didn’t notice that she had climbed onto the machinery and accidentally lowered the forklift bucket, which he was using to clear snow, onto her.
She told the outlet: “I remember feeling this pressure on my neck. I started to laugh; I thought Dad was joking, that he'd gone a bit too far. Then I started screaming. I felt my back popping and before I knew it my head was in my crotch. I was crushed right down into a tiny ball.
“My heart was thumping in my chest. Everything felt really slow and all I could hear was my breath. I remember closing my eyes and thinking ‘you're going to die, and your Dad's going to think it's his fault’.”
After opening her eyes, Sammi said that she couldn't feel her legs, even though she could still move them initially, then fell onto a pile of compacted snow.
At first, she could feel her legs "pulsing" and "twitching” - and after that she never felt her legs again.
The Scottish athlete spent the next six months in a spinal unit at a Glasgow hospital, and said she remembers feeling “awe” when she first used a wheelchair.
Speaking to the Scottish Farmer, the presenter expressed empathy, saying she "can't fathom the pain my dad still carries daily," but hopes her achievements and joy "ease his burden."
Despite once aspiring to be a zoologist, Sammi has become a double Paralympic medalist and a world champion wheelchair racer.
She also holds the world record for the T53 1500m, among other sporting achievements. Last year, she got engaged to her partner Callum and has since taken on a role as a TV presenter, in addition to receiving an MBE.
