Shocking photos of paralysed passenger show the stark reality of drink-driving
These are the shocking images that show a passenger left paralysed from the neck down after he accepted a lift from a friend who was drunk.
Greg Sumner, 26, got into a BMW with “bladdered” pal Vincent Atkinson after a boozy night out, who lost control on a bend at 70mph while racing another car and smashed into an on-coming vehicle driven by father-of-two Richard Parker, 35.
Mr Parker, who was heading to work, and father-of-two Vincent, 31, were both killed instantly in the horror crash on the A371 near Axbridge, Somerset in October 2012.
Greg’s family were told he was two hours from death after shattering 27 bones and he spent five months in a coma.
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Four years later the former sales manager now lives in a neuro-rehabilitation unit where he has had to learn how to talk again.
And after regaining his voice he is devoting his shattered life to deterring others from drink-driving, sharing his story in schools, Army barracks, colleges and universities.
Greg said: “I can never make up for two men being dead, but I can try my best to do what I can.
“I just want people to, when they are getting in their car or their friend’s car, to think back to me and re-consider it.
“Before this crash I was the ultimate lad. I was out at least three or four nights a week and I did lots of drinking, lots of partying and saw lots of girls.
“This has brought a full stop to all of that. I can’t move a muscle at all and I can’t do anything for myself.”
Greg, who is father to five-year-old Alfie Stamp, added: “As a dad, I’m very very upset – I’m really gutted about simple things like the fact I won’t be able to play football with Alfie.
“When I was a kid, I remember I was baffled by how my dad could run so quickly, but my son will never have that.
“When he falls over and hurts his knee, I won’t be able to pick him up.
“The astronomical price of bending the rules slightly was that two men died and four kids are going to grow up without fathers.”
Top pic: SWNS