Jenna O’Neill suffered serious injuries but praises “hero husband for saving” daughter Ayla.
image copyrightJenna O’Neill
A mother seriously injured by a “careering car” says her two-year-old daughter was saved by her husband throwing her out of the way.
Jenna O’Neill, 32, of Gloucestershire, suffered life-changing injuries after being struck by a car while at a festival in north Wales on the weekend.
Mrs O’Neill was airlifted to hospital from the Conscious Tribal Gathering in Denbighshire after Saturday’s incident.
But she praised the reactions of her husband Stephen for saving little Ayla.
“My two-and-a-half year old toddler only survived this incident because my husband threw her out of the way of the car as it careered down the road,” Mrs O’Neill said, speaking from hospital in Stoke.
“He’s a hero. Things would be very different if it wasn’t for his quick-thinking and fast actions.”
North Wales Police has told the Daily Post they were called to a report that an “unoccupied vehicle had rolled downhill over a tent at a campsite near Corwen”, which is about 15 miles west of Wrexham.
The force has launched an investigation and is liaising with the Health and Safety Executive.
“We were sat outside our tent enjoying the sunshine having just had lunch,” said Ms O’Neill, who is from the Forest of Dean.
“The camping fields were on a sharp incline. We, like many people, had camped at the bottom as it was the only shaded area.”
Welsh Ambulance Service confirmed they were called to “reports of a road traffic collision involving pedestrians” in the Glyndyfrdwy area of Corwen at about 13:30 BST on Saturday.
The service said one person was flown by air ambulance to the major trauma unit at Stoke’s University Hospital while two people were taken to Wrexham’s Maelor Hospital in a road ambulance.
Ms O’Neill said she is in a critical but stable condition in hospital having suffered a broken collar bone, 10 broken ribs and a fractured pelvis as well as damage to her liver and spleen.
However she added: “Mentally I keep going over what happened. I genuinely believed my whole family had died.”
Daughter Ayla “escaped with cuts” and husband Stephen has a fractured ankle but has since been discharged from hospital.
“I’m really struggling with the fact that two days ago I was healthy and having fun with my family and now I’m unable to move in a hospital bed, unable to see my family as I’m so far from home due to Covid restrictions,” said Mrs O’Neill.
“However all of this is manageable as I am so aware that it could have been so much worse if it wasn’t for the actions of my heroic husband throwing our toddler out of the way of the oncoming car. So I am grateful for their safety.”
The Conscious Tribal Gathering was a five-day event between Thursday and Monday and on its website describes itself as “an ultra chilled family friendly event to connect with like minded souls”.
The organisers have been asked to comment.
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