Rollercoaster crash victim who had leg amputated still yearns for a 'normal life'

LEAH WILL HELP OTHER AMPUTEES AT NEW NHS CENTRE

- By JOEL MOORE

A WOMAN who had her leg amputated after being seriously injured in the Smiler rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers has pledged to help other amputees at a new NHS centre.

A decade on from the catastrophic incident at the Staffordshire theme park, Leah Washington-Pugh says she still sometimes yearns for a “normal life” but is “lucky to be where I am now”.

She and now-husband Joe Pugh were just 17 and 18 when their Smiler carriage rammed into another on June 2, 2015.

They were two of 16 victims given compensation for the crash by operator Merlin.

“It was a massive shock, obviously, for everybody that’s experienced not just a traumatic event but then to also become an amputee from the accident as well.

“It's a lot to get your head around,” recalled the 28-year-old from Barnsley.

“I was 17 so I was just starting to go out and be an independent person. And then everything was taken away from me and I was back to relying on my mum and dad to do everything for me, or nurses.