British tourist, 21, ‘almost died’ after being knocked off quad bike by a car

'I know it seems morbid but when I was on the floor after scraping my face, I was waiting for a car to run me over. I thought it was the end of my life.'

A woman’s holiday to a Greek island turned into a nightmare after being knocked off a quad bike and falling on her face.

Holly Thomas, 21, was visiting Zakynthos with her family during a week-long trip earlier this month and they hired two quad bikes so they could better explore the island.

But on June 8, the third day of their trip, they were travelling back from the Blue Caves beauty spot when a car travelling at around 50mph hit the back of her quad bike, sending her flying through the air before hitting the ground face-first.

She was rushed to hospital where she underwent a brain scan and received stitches on her head. She also suffered scrapes and bruises across her face and a large swollen ‘blood pool’ on the back of her right leg.

Her trip was completely ruined by the incident, as she was forced to spend the remainder recovering in her hotel room before flying back to the UK on June 12.

Holly is now recovering at home but has been told by doctors some of her injuries could take months to heal.

She says this was her first time riding a quad bike and following the accident says she’ll never go on one again.

Holly, from Pontypool in South Wales, said: ‘I literally watched the car go into the back of us and then I closed my eyes when I went up into the air.

‘I felt a scrape on my face first. I didn’t feel any pain at first because I think I was in so much shock.

‘I know it seems morbid but when I was on the floor after scraping my face, I was waiting for a car to run me over. I thought it was the end of my life.

‘When I opened my eyes I then got straight up on my feet as I wanted my mum and dad to know that I was alright. At this point, I didn’t know it was that serious.

‘I got fully knocked off the quad and flew through the air. I was on the back of the quad so I had nothing to hold onto whereas the driver did because he didn’t suffer any injuries whatsoever.

‘Where the impact hit from the back [from the car], this is what flung me up.

‘I’m not sleeping properly. It keeps playing over and over in my head. It’s more the shock than anything and it’s going to affect me further down the line.’

Holly’s mum Alison, who was on a different quad bike when the crash happened, added: ‘A car overtook us and they were going really fast so it made me quite nervous anyway.

‘They then overtook Holly but then there was oncoming traffic on the other side of the road and they realised they couldn’t make it, so they pulled back in and hit Holly’s quad.

‘Holly’s quad was hit completely off the road. I initially panicked and then I ran over to her. Holly will be scarred 100% where she suffered her head and body injury.

‘Holly’s helmet saved her life. I wished we had never hired the quad bikes after what had happened. I didn’t feel safe on it anyway.’

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