Alton Towers victim feared death in crash
A YOUNG victim of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash has said she feared she would die in the accident.
Vicky Balch, 20, said she was concerned that she would not survive the five and a half hours it took emergency crews to free her from the ride after two cars collided earlier this month.
Miss Balch, of Leyland, Lancashire, was at the front with alongside Leah Washington, 17, Joe Pugh, 18, and Daniel Thorpe, 27, when the crash left them dangling 25ft above the ground.
Miss Balch, who is still in hospital after suffering significant injuries, said: “It felt like slow motion. We banged into the car in front. I felt the bars go into my knees; we moved backwards and the car went into us again.
“I passed out. I was awoken by Dan shouting my name. Everyone was screaming and I was in excruciating pain. I looked down and I could see blood all over. The bars were in my right knee ...
“The only thought that was going through my mind for the hours and hours we were stuck was that we were going to die. If I was going to survive I would never walk again, that was certain.
“I thought it was never going to end. I just wanted to die.”
Ms Balch’s lawyer, Paul Paxton, said: “She’s got some difficult times ahead. She’s battling very hard.”
Miss Washington, from Barnsley, was also treated for a fractured hand. Mr Pugh, also from Barnsley, shattered his knee. Mr Thorpe, of Buxton, Derbyshire, was treated for a collapsed lung and fractured leg.