Luas girl fears kidnap after €550k payout
Mother hits out at critics of Rebecca, 20, saying she’s now left with scars and terrif ied to leave her own house
THE mother of the ‘tram surfing’ young woman who got €550,000 in compensation despite admitting the accident was her fault, has revealed her daughter is afraid to leave her home for fear of being kidnapped.
Twenty-year-old Rebecca Kelly settled her High Court case on Friday with Veolia Transport, the company which operated the Luas at the time of her accident in 2010.
Then 13 years of age, Miss Kelly fell off the side of the Luas while attempting to hold onto the side door where there was a small ledge with her fingers between the door and body of the tram in what is known as ‘tram surfing’.
The Luas was taking off from Fatima Station on the Red Line.
Miss Kelly fell and banged her head on the tracks and had to be rescued by her friend from an oncoming Luas.
In the wake of the settlement there was widespread media coverage and social media commentary relating to the amount of money Ms Kelly received given that she had admitted contributory negligence in the case.
Ms Kelly’s mother, Elizabeth, hit out at those who have criticised her daughter in the media and online, saying Rebecca is too scared to even leave her home in case she gets kidnapped.
She said: ‘To be honest with you, it hasn’t even hit her yet, do you know what I mean? The problems she has and what we went through for the eight years. She was still going to school at nearly 19 and the stick she had to get. Then we got back home from the courts and it was all over social media.
‘They’re after ruining the child. She’s terrified to go out in case she gets kidnapped. She might have a brain injury but that doesn’t mean she can’t have a normal life. We had to build her up over six years before she could go out and enjoy herself.’
Elizabeth Kelly said the coverage of her daughter’s case in the media didn’t mention the hardship that her daughter or her family had been through as a result of her daughter’s injuries.
She added: ‘They never put in the way she’s left with scars. It’s unbelievable. I had to leave work to look after that child.
‘I sat in school crying with them to get her help. And I’m getting phone calls from work to go home and she’s sitting in me garden... I mean that wasn’t that long ago.’
Rebecca became a mother two weeks ago to a baby boy and her mother was critical of comments written about her daughter’s pregnancy online.
‘Now she has a baby and the things they’re saying about her – being able to have a baby after a brain injury. She’s very lucky to be alive. They don’t have to sit in front of their child looking at her in that condition, not knowing whether she’s going to come through or not,’ she said.
On Friday, Rebecca vented her anger online when a friend suggested she remove her social media account. She wrote: ‘I know where you are all coming from but I’m not f***ing hiding. Me b **** x will anybody bad mouth me or my child. F*** them all. Haters will be haters.’
The court heard that Veolia Transport were aware of previous issues with people ‘tram surfing’ as far back as 2005, five years before the incident with Ms Kelly occurred, and failed to take actions to mitigate risk such as mirrors for drivers’ blind spots.
There had been 54 incidents of ‘tram surfing’ recorded on the Luas between 2005 and 2010.
Ms Kelly’s legal team claimed that the tram pulled off from the station without first observing the non-platform side of the tram.
Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Cross commended Ms Kelly for her honesty. craig.hughes@mailonsunday.ie
‘They’re after ruining the child’ ‘She’s very lucky to be alive’