A lady who misplaced an arm and a leg after being hit by two trains has instructed Sky News “avoidable mistakes and failings” led to her life-changing accidents.
Sarah de Lagarde slipped on a puddle on the platform at High Barnet underground station in north London and fell in a spot between a stationary prepare and the platform in September 2022.
The fall alone was sufficient to interrupt her nostril and two entrance enamel however nobody might have predicted the horror that was to observe – particularly Ms de Lagarde, who remained acutely aware all through all the ordeal.
“The train then departed and took my right arm with it,” she instructed The UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee.
Despite shouting for assist no one heard her – so the following prepare got here into the station, claiming Ms de Lagarde’s proper leg.
“I was still conscious after that and still determined to make it home,” she stated.
“In my mind’s eye, I could see my two daughters and they were telling me ‘Mummy, you have to come home’.”
Ms de Lagarde remained on the prepare observe for round quarter-hour earlier than somebody raised the alarm, and it took one other hour for emergency providers to reach.
“There was a series of things that delayed my saving,” she instructed Sky News.
“I was told that switching off the power line took ages because no one knew who to contact, so the paramedics couldn’t get under the train to get me out of there.
“There have been so many avoidable errors and failings that Transport for London (TfL) has allowed to occur.
“I have to live with the fact that it could have been just a slip and someone could have found me. and I could have just got away with just a broken nose.”
Ms de Lagarde was instructed by docs that she practically died 10 occasions the night time of the accident, and it was a whole miracle she survived.
“It sounds like something from a horror movie,” Sarah-Jane Mee stated to Ms de Lagarde, a mother-of-two who now has a robotic arm and prosthetic leg.
They have, to some extent, allowed her to hold on with regular life, however the implications of her accident are nonetheless felt by all of these round her.
“It has been a really tough year,” she stated.
“I hold on to the fact that if I survived, I survived for a reason, and it is to highlight the fact that these safety procedures, that TfL think they have, are not sufficient – otherwise I would not be here with these injuries.”
The London Underground community is utilized by two million folks each single day. Every month, there are a median of 16 incidents of individuals falling between the prepare and the platform, in accordance with TfL figures protecting 2006 to 2018.
Since 2003, the London Underground has been a subsidiary of TfL.
Asked what must be achieved to make the London Underground community safer, Ms de Lagarde stated: “In my thinking, it is not just a money question – it is the fact that we are led to believe that CCTV is being watched live: it is not.
“Why are there no sensors on the tracks? Why is there no workers within the stations?
“I didn’t sacrifice an arm and a leg for nothing to happen.”
Read extra from Sky News:
Predatory servicemen in Red Arrows preyed on girls
Owned an older iPhone? You might get a payout
Storm Ciaran’s risks – probability of ‘sting jet’ phenomenon
Nick Dent, the director of buyer relations at London Underground, stated: “Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah de Lagarde and her family following the devastating incident at High Barnet station last year.
“We have provided her direct help via our Sarah Hope line service, and we stay receptive to Sarah’s views concerning the community.”
He stated security stays the highest precedence at London Underground and measures are frequently put in place to enhance the community.
Source: information.sky.com”