A woman has received a "substantial" payout after suffering serious injuries in a horrific coach crash while on holiday in Spain - after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Sharon Knevett, 58, survived a crash after the coach flew off the road at 55 miles per hour, leaving her with a punctured lung, broken ribs, a shoulder and chest injury and daily flashbacks of the event.
She spent six days in hospital in Barcelona before being taken home by land ambulance as she was unable to fly to the UK due to her punctured lung. But due to Sharon's ongoing injuries from the crash, she lost her livelihood as a radiographer.
The profession, which she trained hard to qualify for, requires operating heavy machinery, which is now too painful for her shoulder. And this week her solicitors, injury specialist firm Irwin Mitchell, announced Sharon will receive a "significant settlement" from the coach company following the crash in September 2016.
The mum was on the transfer coach to Barcelona airport with her daughter when she suddenly realised her driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. She said: "It was torrential rain and it just seemed that the coach was going faster and faster.
"I took off my seatbelt and moved down the coach to urgently rouse the driver. I don’t remember much more until waking up in hospital."
The coach flew through a guardrail and struck a tree and lamp post before overturning and landing on its side. The undisclosed sum of money is to compensate for Sharon's pain, suffering, loss of earnings and any further medical treatment she may need in future.
Sharon said: "I think I and my fellow passengers were lucky to get out alive but the experience and my injuries mean that day changed the course of my life forever. I still have flashbacks and nightmares. I believe that this will always be the case for me. The experience has been a living nightmare.
"I am in pain every day which is a constant reminder of not only the accident but the reason why I had to leave my dream job. If the driver was suitably rested and driving at an appropriate speed for the weather conditions this accident would not have happened, and my life would not have been turned upside down."
The police report confirms the most likely cause of the accident was "driving without due care and attention on the part of the driver and driving at excessive speed" according to Irwin Mitchell.
