A holiday-maker was left in a coma and may be disabled for life after suffering horrific injuries when her 'dune buggy' plunged off a cliff in Turkey. Rebekka Kelly, 30, needs round-the-clock care after she was left with a broken back, pelvis and permanent nerve damage after the holiday horror crash in Antalya.
She was halfway through her trip with eldest son Sonny, 10, when she decided to book a £75, two-hour safari buggy tour through a TUI rep. During thetrip Rebekka was flung off the side of the 164ft (50m) cliff.
She was rushed to a private hospital in Turkey where she was treated for over three weeks, had two surgeries on her spine and had to have her lungs drained. Rebekka has also fractured six of her vertebrates, fractured her pelvis, had internal bleeding and permanent nerve damage in her lower back.
The support worker is now being treated in a hospital in Liverpool, but there is a chance she could be permanently disabled due to her injuries. Speaking from her hospital bed, Rebekka said: "I booked an excursion through TUI and it was a buggy safari.
"On the app, all of the pictures were on flat ground so I thought that's what it would be like. When we got there, we had a safety tour and got on the first buggy but the engine wasn't working so they put us on a different buggy and we put our seatbelts on.
"We then had to go round this track to make sure that we could control the vehicle and that we were confident in driving. We went round the track a few times and it was just a normal, flat ground and everything was fine.
"We started on the trail and started going up cliffs, which was a shock to me given how dangerous it was so soon after driving only on flat ground. When I was on high ground my steering wheel wouldn’t turn and so me and Sonny went over the edge of a cliff."
Doctors have told Rebekka that she may be permanently disabled for the rest of her life, and may also develop arthritis. She will also need around-the-clock care from her family and may have to live with her brother Rocky, as she can't do simple things such as walking and bending down.
She said: "I'm going to be really cautious and I'm going to have to walk with a walking frame for some time’. The extent of my injuries will not be known until I've had X-Rays over here and the specialists have looked at it.
"It's just a waiting game. I've got a lot of family and friends who are willing to help me.
"I'm a support worker so I'm going to have to be off work for a long time and I'm going to need help with the kids because I'm not going to be able to bend down to the oven or to the washing machine."
Rebekka's medical bills totalled to around £44,000. She said: "My lawyer, Anthony Mckeever of Havard Law, provided an independent English expert report to TUI which outlined my injuries and what I required in respect of the flight home, which formed part of my package holiday."
Anthony said: "With the skilled assistance of an English medical expert coordinator, Havard Law and Rebekka’s quite brilliant brother Rocky were rather miraculously able to get Rebekka home as safely as we could and into the best possible NHS Care. With Rebekka now home, the legal case is now very much in progression.’’
A TUI spokesperson said: "We’re really sorry to hear about Ms Kelly’s experience following her unfortunate accident in Turkey. Our resort team provided immediate support to Ms Kelly after the accident and our reps have been visiting her daily in hospital.
"We can confirm that following the accident, a full investigation of this excursion was conducted, and no faults were found with the equipment. We always encourage customers to check that they have adequate valid travel insurance to cover them for their entire holiday.
"Our teams will continue to support Ms Kelly as much as possible and we’ll be providing her with a contribution which can go towards her medical costs."
