A devastated mother has spoken out about the emotional and physical impact of a horrifying car crash that left her and her two children seriously injured.
Katie Rusby, 29, was on her way to pick up her partner Craig from a friend's house when her Ford Fiesta collided with a Peugeot 104 on April 4.
The Peugeot driver, a woman aged 43, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, Yorkshire Live reports.
Her tot William, five, suffered multiple injuries as a result of the crash in Barnsley and had to be airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital.
Her daughter Ebony, 12, was also badly hurt along with Katie.
Katie, of Barnsley, has since been discharged from the hospital along with Ebony, although both are still in a lot of pain.
William suffered a bleed on his brain, a broken spine, and injuries to his lungs, liver, spleen, bowel and kidneys. Mrs Rusby says he remains very poorly and will have to remain in hospital for at least three months. He has undergone surgery and may need further operations due to the severity of his injuries.
Katie, who is now suffering from flashbacks of the crash, says William needs help to breathe but has managed to move his legs. It was initially feared that he would be paralysed.
Speaking about the crash, she said: "I had just passed Darfield garden centre and was doing about 43mph.
"I saw a car come onto my side of the road. The next thing it went head-on into my car.
"I am in a lot of pain. Me and Ebony are both dealing with flashbacks."
Incredibly, Katie managed to get her and the children out of the car after she saw smoke and feared it was going to burst into flames. She says William 'turned blue' just as the air ambulance arrived.
William remains in Sheffield Children's hospital with his parents and sister by his side and staying in a family room.
"He is kind of talking," says Katie. "He is not fully there yet. His lung is collapsed and so he struggles to talk. It takes a lot of effort for him to talk.
"I was told that getting him out of the car so quickly saved his life. I don't really know how to feel or think when I was told I saved my son's life."
Katie says she feels very sorry for the family of the woman who died.
Family and friends are now rallying around to raise money to help the family through over the coming months.
Craig's sister Natasha has set up a GoFundMe page to help the Rusby family. It has raised over £2,000 so far.
On the page, Natasha wrote: "We as a family have had a lot of messages asking if we need anything so I am doing this as Craig is unable to work and the cost of fuel getting to and from Sheffield for clean clothes and the cost of meals and drinks day and night for Craig and Katie plus paying bills is a huge stress that they just don’t need right now. William needs their whole attention as he’s just so poorly.
"I appreciate times are hard for everyone and if anyone can help with anything at all it would be hugely appreciated more than you could imagine."
The GoFundMe page can be found here.
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