A Kegworth woman has been scarred for life after surviving a horrific crash on the M1. Ana Borges was driving into work when her car suffered a flat tyre along a section of the highway without a hard shoulder to pull into.

The 43-year-old, who was travelling along the northbound carriageway of the M1 at Junction 24a on Tuesday, April 25, was left scared and unsure what to do when her tyre deflated. Speaking to NottinghamshireLive, she said: “I panicked. I went to the left lane and I was scared because there was no hard shoulder.”

The mental health act administrator first moved to the left lane of the M1, travelling at just 10 mph with her hazards on, hoping to reach a section of M1 with hard shoulder. However, just moments later a lorry ploughed into Ana’s Alfa Romeo, breaking her back in several places.

The impact had sent Ana’s car “spinning”, with the 43-year-old lucky to be alive according to those who rushed to her aid. She said: “It was all very violent. I broke my back in different places. A gentleman came and told me he did not know how I survived. I was conscious the whole time. I tried to get out of the car because the impact broke my seat and I was just laying back, trying to reach the door. I just could not. The pain was too horrible. I broke six ribs, I broke my back in different places.”

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The litany of injuries has changed Ana’s life forever. Described as a once active person, the Kegworth woman now struggles to bend and has been left scarred for life after surgery in the wake of the crash. Mobility issues are not the only thing she has to contend, having been left scared to drive along the M1 again. She said: “Now I need to find another way to get to work. I do not want to take that risk again. It is not safe at all.”

The crash occurred on a section of the M1 designed without a hard shoulder as it operates under the smart motorway scheme. The controversy surrounding smart motorways allegedly causing more accidents has led the Government to cancel all plans for new smart motorways, but existing highways are unaffected and will be maintained.

Ana believes they should all be axed. She said: “Smart motorways should be scrapped. Because more people will die. It is horrible because you feel like you cannot do anything if you have a problem with your car. If you want to pull over, well, it feels like a death sentence. You do not have a way out. You just need to cross your fingers and hopefully nobody will hit you.”

The Government and National Highways have defended the safety of existing smart motorways and said £900 million was being spent on further improving them. A National Highways spokesperson added: “Our motorways are some of the safest in the world and we will continue to deliver an extensive programme of upgrades to further improve existing smart motorways. However, we appreciate that more work is needed to help ensure everyone feels confident when using existing smart motorways. We will continue to invest to improve understanding of how to drive safely, particularly on those stretches without a hard shoulder.”

Ana Borges
Ana has been left scarred for life after the collision

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