A British nursing student who was trapped under a quad bike after driving off a cliff in Corfu has warned holidaymakers to stay away from the “deadly” vehicles.
Maddy Morris was visiting her family on the Greek island last month when she and her friend suffered a terrible accident just one day into their trip, on her birthday.
The 24-year-old was knocked unconscious when she fell off the edge of a cliff, falling nearly three metres before the rental bike landed on top of her, knocking her unconscious.
The nursing student, who lives near Manchester, says she has no idea why the vehicle suddenly left the road, and believes it was a mechanical fault or uneven terrain.
“I thought I was going to die,” she said in a stern warning to others. “I saw visions of people I loved as I fell.”
Maddy broke her shoulder blade and was left battered and bruised after the crash on her birthday
The 24-year-old was knocked unconscious when she fell off the side of a cliff
Maddy spoke about the severity of her injuries after the bike went off a cliff and landed on her
Maddy Morris said she was on her birthday with a friend when the rental bike crashed
After the incident, Maddy and her friend were pulled from the side of the road by passers-by and taken to hospital with multiple injuries.
Maddy says she feels ‘lucky to be alive’ after the accident and urges other young people not to go on holiday with a quad bike.
Maddy said, “We were only going 20 mph, so we weren’t going fast or anything.
‘I was driving and my friend was sitting on the back.
“The day of the accident was actually my birthday,” she said.
‘We were about an hour and a half out and were quite high up, but still a long way from the edge.
She said the road was quite busy so they were keeping a slow pace.
“We just fell off the edge of the cliff unexpectedly. Luckily we landed on a ledge as the cliff descended to the sea.”
Maddy said she had ridden a quad bike before and knew how to ride it.
“It was very unexpected,” she said.
‘We were flown away and fell 2.10 meters, after which the quad landed on top of us.
‘We don’t know if it was an engine failure, bad terrain or if we lost control of the steering.
Maddy and her boyfriend were trapped under the ATV for several minutes until bystanders were able to lift the vehicle from above.
Maddy said: ‘You never think something like this is going to happen to you. I must have been unconscious because I remember waking up on the floor – it was really scary.
‘When the ball was on top of us, the wheels were still turning. I think that’s why I’ve had so many injuries to my left side.
‘I managed to squeeze through a gap a little bit, while we were both stuck underneath. We were stuck for a few minutes.
‘Luckily there were people behind us who could push the quad from above. We could easily have gone down even further.
“I’m so glad I wore my helmet.”
Maddy was battered and bruised after the accident, including a broken shoulder blade and other superficial injuries.
Now the student is warning others to stay away from quad bikes after she nearly died last month.
The 24-year-old was on holiday in Corfu with her girlfriend and family before the accident
Maddy shared a video of the severity of her injuries as a warning to other holidaymakers
“You never think something like this will happen to you,” Maddy said after the crash
Maddy and her friend were stuck under the quad for a few minutes
Maddy said she had been on a quad bike before and knew how to ride it
“We were only going 20 miles an hour, so we weren’t speeding or anything,” she said.
Maddy said: ‘I thought I’d broken the whole left side of my body because I couldn’t feel anything.
‘I didn’t have insurance, so I learned my lesson: we had to pay for the treatment ourselves.
‘We recharged ourselves because we wanted to enjoy the rest of the week. It would have ruined my birthday.
‘I’m never going to ride a quad again. I thought I’d be okay because I’d been on a quad before – and it’s just normal there, everyone rides one. I thought I was safe.
“I wouldn’t recommend anyone to rent a quad bike. They are death traps. My helmet definitely saved my life.”