A husband and wife have cheated death after the motorbike they were riding was hit by a drug driver on the wrong side of the road.
A shocking video shows the moment mother Alison Amner, 55, was tossed eight feet in the air and on to a garden wall after a driver who was high on cocaine smashed into the motorbike, leaving her with life-changing injuries.
She was riding on the back of her husband’s bike when the pair were hit by drugged-up Matthew Bell as he overtook a van in his Chevrolet on a bend.
Her husband Richard, 58, suffered a triple open femur fracture among other catastrophic injuries, while Mrs Amner broke her finger, nose, nine ribs and punctured her lung.
Four months after the collision, the pair have undergone more than 20 blood transfusions, and still require the use of wheelchairs and daily visits from carers. Their 29-year-old daughter Jody is now caring for them at home.
The pair have spoken of their ordeal after Bell was jailed for 30 months and given an extended driving ban.
Alison Amner, 55, (left) and her husband Richard, 58, (right) were both left with catastrophic injuries after their motorbike was hit by a drugged-up driver
Mother Alison Amner, 55, was tossed eight feet in the air after a driver high on cocaine smashed into her motorbike, leaving her with life-changing injuries
The couple were going for a regular spin on their Yamaha bike in Carmarthenshire, Wales, in July when they were hit by Bell.
The driver later tested positive for cocaine and cannabis in his system.
The horrendous crash was captured on CCTV, with the footage so graphic that people in Swansea Crown Court were allowed to leave if it was too distressing.
Matthew Bell (pictured) has been jailed for 30 months over the crash in his Chevrolet car
Bell was driving on the wrong side of the road, side by side with the Transit van he was overtaking.
The motorcycle can clearly be seen travelling on the correct side of the road, before the pair are thrown from the bike.
Bell not only failed to stop immediately after the crash but blamed the Amners for the crash, telling police at the scene that ‘they were on the wrong side of the road’.
Bell, of nearby Ferryside, admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst unfit through drugs, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
Prosecutor James Hartson said: ‘He continued to drive after the collision and witnesses formed the view that it was obvious he was trying to get away.
‘The mechanical state of his own vehicle prevented him from doing so. He attempted to blame the rider of the motorcycle and was heard to say “I’m f*****”.’
He will only serve half of his 30-month sentence in jail.
The motorcycle can clearly be seen travelling on the correct side of the road in the CCTV footage
Mrs Amner was riding on the back of her husband’s bike when the pair were hit by drugged-up Matthew Bell as he overtook a van on a bend
In a victim impact statement to court, Mrs Amner said: ‘Emotionally, physically and mentally I can’t do anything. I am so scared for the future. Financially I don’t know what is going to happen – I am self-employed so I don’t know how I’m going to cope.
‘I’m worried about my husband, which is playing on my mind. My daughter is asking us if we are ever going to go on the bike again. Motorcycles are our passion and he [Bell] has taken that away from us. The man who did this doesn’t realise how badly he has affected our lives.’
The couple, who spent weeks in two different hospitals 70 miles apart, spoke of their ordeal to Welsh current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar and called for tougher laws on drug drivers.
Mr Amner said: ‘There were stages I didn’t think coming home would happen.’
Mrs Amner was tossed on to a garden wall, breaking her finger, her nose, nine ribs and puncturing her lung
The couple (pictured before the accident) are now calling for tougher sentences for drivers who seriously injure others while under the influence of drink or drugs
Mrs Amner added: ‘I have a pin and plate in the leg, I have a plate in my hand, I broke my finger, my nose, nine ribs and punctured a lung.’
‘We were so used to doing everything ourselves and now we rely on other people to do things for us. Like washing us, making food for us, helping put clothes on, brushing my hair.
‘My hand doesn’t work like it used to. And that’s what’s painful, not being able to do what I used to do with my hand.’
Their 29-year-old daughter Jody is now caring for her parents at her home. She said: ‘I never thought in my 20s I’d be caring for my parents.’
Richard and Alison’s house is now undergoing major renovations to adapt it to their injuries, including installing a wet room near the kitchen.
A fundraising campaign has also been set up to support the couple as they are unable to work following the accident.
The couple are now calling for tougher prison sentences for drivers who seriously injure others while under the influence of drink or drugs.
The 55-year-old said they now can’t do anything for themselves and have to rely on help from other people. Pictured with daughters Jody and Kara in hospital
The couple spoke of their ordeal to Welsh current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar and called for tougher laws on drug drivers
‘The convictions that he’s had, he’s done it more than once, over 60 odd convictions and still continuing to drive the road and this is what he did,’ said Alison.
‘It needs to change. He’ll be able to get up, he’ll be able to get washed and dressed, he’ll have food handed to him. It’s just not enough.’
The family’s local MP, Nia Griffith, raised the case to the Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab in Parliament.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Dangerous driving puts lives at risk which is why we increased the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life imprisonment.
‘Judges decide sentences following guidelines set by the independent Sentencing Council. They recently consulted on changes to motoring offence sentencing, including causing serious injury by dangerous driving.’
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