'Horror' motorbike crash on the Island left teacher with shattered ankle

Oliver Dyer

5 July 2024 at 11:00 am·2-min read

Teacher left with shattered ankle after horror crash. <i>(Image: Contributed)</i> — Teacher left with shattered ankle after horror crash. *(Image: Contributed)*

A teacher who shattered her ankle after a horror crash on the Isle of Wight, while riding on the back of her partner’s motorbike, says she still suffers pain and cannot wear high heels to this day.

Maria Iglesias-Garcia, from Bembridge and originally from Galicia in Spain, was awarded a six-figure settlement following the collision, which happened in 2018.

The 47-year-old and her partner Michael, 53, were driving home from his vape shop in Newport, when they were struck by a car and sent flying.

Maria, who was in her final year of university at the time, was left lying in the road, screaming in pain.

After being rushed to hospital, surgeons reconstructed her left ankle and she spent the next year-and-a-half on crutches, struggling to walk and relying on taxis.

Maria said the ordeal was "horrific" and she wishes she had never got on the bike.

“For years I had to put my life on pause and I can never get that time back", she said.

“Now I feel I can no longer look nice in a pretty dress as I can’t wear high heels anymore to go with it when I go out.

“I still have a lot of pain and it’s never going to go away."

Maria's foot (Image: Contributed)

Maria with her foot in a cast (Image: Contributed)

Maria said she no longer feels safe on the road, even in a car, and has been told in the next ten years she will need to have either ankle replacement surgery or ankle fusion surgery privately.

She also suffers from osteoarthritis, a condition where the protective cartilage on the ends of her bones has broken down.

Despite the setbacks, Maria has refused to let the traumatic accident derail her dream of becoming a teacher.

She did complete her university degree, before going on to secure her “dream job” at a public school on the mainland a few years later.

After the accident Maria contacted Express Solicitors, and with the help of her lawyer Colette McCann was awarded £195,000 in compensation in August 2023, after initially refusing a £30,000 settlement.

Ms McCann said: “Sadly Maria has learned the hard way how dangerous motorbikes can be.

“This settlement will go some way to securing her future and shows just how quickly your life can change."

She is now calling for car drivers to pay more attention to motorbikes

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