Hartlepool woman who suffered life-changing injuries in serious crash raises more than £1,500 for air ambulance

Danyelle Clarke, 36, from Wynyard, was a passenger in her mother’s car when it was involved in a collision with a lorry on the A19 near Crathorne in July 2018.

She spent four-and-a-half months in hospital after sustaining a severe traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for six weeks.

Miss Clarke said: “I remember the day of the accident being a lovely sunny day.

"I have no memory of the actual accident, only the conversation with my mam moments before, where we were chatting away excitedly about the 'girlie day' that we had planned.

“I've been told that we were overtaking a lorry when it suddenly swerved into our lane, crushing us against the crash barrier, then flipping our car onto its roof and dragging it along on top of the barrier, before projecting us into oncoming traffic.”

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) quickly responded to the scene and assessed and treated Miss Clarke’s injuries.

She was put into a medically induced coma before being taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, by the YAS road crew, accompanied by the doctor and paramedic from GNAAS.

“When I woke up I was completely paralysed down the right side of my body, with limited movement in my left side,” Miss Clarke added.

"I was unable to hold my head up or retain my tongue in my mouth. I couldn't speak and had blurred and double vision.”

Since coming home from the hospital, she had to learn to speak and is currently learning how to walk again.

To help with her recovery, she signed up to GNAAS’s virtual challenge called Race to the Base, which saw supporters cover distances that the GNAAS’ critical care team travel while responding to call-outs.

Miss Clarke chose to cover 78 miles by walking and cycling and quickly surpassed her initial target of £200, raising £1,568 in total.

She said: “The GNAAS team saved my life, and I can never thank them enough.”

To support the charity visit: gna.as/donatesummer