A dad-of-two has suffered a series of devastating injuries following a car crash on one of Cardiff's busiest streets. Will Gannon was driving to work on Wednesday, June 15 when he was involved in a serious accident on Newport Road.
The 36-year-old, from Penarth, needed to be cut out of his Mercedes and taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) where he was found to have broken his spine, chest bone, jaw, both cheek bones and eyes sockets, and cracked his skull. He also had a bleed on the brain and liver.
One of his closest friends, Kevin Brown, said Will underwent an eight-hour operation where a metal rod was inserted through his spine. It remains unclear how Will's mobility might be affected in the long-term. "Thankfully he's alive and able to speak about this awful experience, but he must now go through a lot of mental and physical rehabilitation," said Kevin.
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As Will is now unable to work for the foreseeable future, Kevin decided to set up a GoFundMe page to help the young family-of-four financially during this awful period. To donate please go here.
"During this road to recovery, Will and his wife Sam - who are both self-employed - will be out of work with very little income. Not only will they need to support their two beautiful daughters, aged eight and 12, but the cost of living crisis will also put strain on the family," Kevin added.
"Having known both Will and Sam for a very long time I know not being able to work will be daunting for them as all they ever want to do is support their daughters. I'm not asking people to break the bank, but every little helps. I just want to try and help this family out over these next couple of months until they are both back on the feet."
Will, who played football twice a week and loved going to the gym, was set to go on a golfing holiday with 30 of his mates to Spain before the crash took place. While they were away, his friends managed to raise €450 in his honour.
Kevin said: "He's a very determined person so there's every chance he'll make a full recovery. The doctors say he'll need to take it day by day. It'll all be down to how his spine repairs itself. He wants to get up and get some feeling back in his legs."
Following the crash, which involved Will's Mercedes and a Toyota Rav 4, Newport Road was closed in both directions for several hours between the junctions with Colchester Avenue and Rover Way. To get Cardiff news straight to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter here.
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