A couple who were seriously injured in a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers have got engaged.
Leah Washington and Joe Pugh had been dating for about a month when in 2015 they decided to go to Alton Towers and their rollercoaster carriage crashed into a stationary carriage on the same track at 90mph.
On Wednesday Washington posted pictures on Instagram showing her engagement ring during a trip to Venice. She wrote: “So this happened yesterday … I SAID YES.”
Pugh posted: “Venice 2022, the best city break so far, made even better by getting a yes from Leah.”
Washington, who was 17 at the time of the crash, had to have her leg amputated above the knee, and Pugh, then 18, also sustained serious injuries, including two shattered kneecaps. The pair, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, were among 16 people injured, five of them seriously, in the crash at the Staffordshire theme park on 2 June.
The passengers were left trapped more than 6 metres (20ft) from the ground at an angle of about 45 degrees before they were eventually freed by emergency workers and stretchered away.
Speaking after the incident in 2015, Washington told how she feared she would die in the moments afterwards and described the “blur” of waking up in hospital and being told her left leg had been amputated.
A 2016 investigation into the incident concluded that the crash was caused due to inadequate health and safety protocols. Merlin Attractions, the owner of Alton Towers, was fined £5m for health and safety failures.
The judge, Michael Chambers QC, said the safety procedures were “woefully inadequate” and a “shambles”, and that the crash was “a needless and avoidable accident in which those injured were fortunate not to have been killed or to have bled to death”.
The judge rejected Merlin Attractions’ claim that the crash was caused by human error, finding rather that it was caused by the company’s “catastrophic failure to assess risk and have a structured system of work”.
On top of the initial fine, Merlin Attractions made interim payments to cover medical and physiotherapy costs. Lawyers said the fine was believed to be the largest ever of its kind for a leisure industry company.
Washington, who has amassed over 27,000 followers on Instagram, uses her platform to share her experiences and progress as an amputee. She became the face of the lingerie brand Pour Moi in 2021.
Washington wrote about how the incident had “changed her life for ever” in a post marking five years since the incident. “I can’t believe how quick five years have gone and obstacles I have overcome since that day and the amazing opportunities that have arisen for me,” she wrote on Instagram. “I want to thank my friends, family and boyfriend for your continued support throughout everything.”
