Young couple in horrific car crash say the smash ‘saved our relationship’

Chloe Leer and her boyfriend Liam Padghan, 20, were hit by a car when they waited at a bus stop – but in the end they were thankful as recovering from their injuries brought them closer together

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Couple say car crash saved their relationship

A young couple who were hospitalised after being in a horrific car crash said the incident saved their relationship – as their road to recovery brought them ‘closer than ever’.

Chloe Leer, 21, and her boyfriend Liam Padghan, 20, were sitting at a bus stop when their lives changed forever – as a car came around a tight bed and ploughed into the pair.

Liam was hit first and suffered terrible injuries to his legs, as the pair were thrown clear of the smashed bus stop and onlookers rushed to help.

Now, Chloe said the crash has saved their relationship, as they had endured a rocky spell before, leaving her believing she was ‘exactly where she was meant to be’ that night.

Chloe thankfully only had superficial injuries
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Image:

Kennedy News and Media)

Liam had to learn to walk again after the crash
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Image:

Kennedy News and Media)

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Chloe said: “I was sat down and Liam was stood up to my right. I only had time to stand up and say ‘Liam’ before it hit us.

“Liam got hit first so he was injured really badly. He was blown through the glass of the bus stop and I was thrown out the gap at the back.

“He was telling me how much he loves me and that he wants to marry me right before it happened. I feel like I was meant to be there with him because otherwise, God knows what would’ve happened to him.”

The couple stood by each other as they recovered from their injuries
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Image:

Kennedy News and Media)

After 20 minutes the first ambulance arrived and blue-lighted Liam to hospital, closely followed by another one for Chloe.

Luckily Chloe’s wounds were superficial so she was discharged at 6am, meanwhile Liam spent the next week in hospital recovering and was only able to walk again after four weeks of intense physiotherapy.

During Liam’s difficult physical recovery Chloe says she took care of him and the pair bonded as they recovered from the traumatic experience together.

Chloe said: “The next day my ribs were in agony, I was covered in bruises and I had a massive lump on my head.

“I went and saw Liam and it was a huge relief just to know he was alive.

“He couldn’t sit up because his bones would rub together so he had his leg pulled straight and tied to the end of the bed.

“I took care of him a lot while he was recovering and it’s brought us a lot closer because he’s seen how much I’d do for him and we were just there for each other.

“We already knew how much we loved each other but it just put things in place – if the crash didn’t happen we probably wouldn’t be together now.”

Liam said: “I didn’t see the car until it was too late and then the next thing I remember I was on the floor.

“I could hear Chloe screaming my name but I couldn’t move.

“The recovery was awful but I was just glad we were both okay and had each other through it.

“Going through that together has brought us closer than ever and we couldn’t be happier now.”

After the arrest, police eventually ruled out drink-driving as the cause of the horrific accident by testing the driver’s alcohol levels, as his blood work showed that he was under the legal limit.

Officers also decided against charging him with dangerous driving after checking CCTV footage of his journey up to that point.

But the 33-year-old driver has received a postal requisition to face a charge of careless driving and is due to appear before Hastings Magistrates’ Court next year.

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “While we have every sympathy for the victims in this case, the Crown Prosecution Service was unable to authorise charges for the two offences the suspect was arrested for.

“We can confirm that following enquiries including CCTV checks, there was no evidence that the standard of driving of the suspect fell far below that of a competent and careful driver, therefore he was not charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

“Analysis of a blood sample from the suspect identified alcohol in his system, however this was below the legal limit, therefore he was not charged with drink-driving.

“The suspect has been reported for summons to face a charge of careless driving.”

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