A ROYAL Mail delivery worker is set to spend her Christmas in a neck brace after a double-decker bus knocked her down and left her with a fractured skull among other serious injuries.
Sarah Everett, 53, has been working for Royal Mail out of its Barnsley, Cudworth and Brierley bases for over a year.
Christmas is undoubtedly the busiest time of year for delivery drivers - and Sarah was in hospital for almost a fortnight after sustaining multiple injuries.
They included a fractured skull, a nasty gash to the top of her head, injured knees and pneumothorax - an air bubble in the internal cavity of her lungs.
She was out delivering parcels and Christmas presents to locals on December 3 when the incident occurred - and she says she thankfully can’t remember much.
She told the Chronicle: “I’d loaded my trolley up with parcels for around the High Street and then I also had a couple of special deliveries.
“It was around lunch time and I’d made my way down High Street and then I had one of the special deliveries down near the industrial estates.
“I was walking up Acorn Way and I remember stopping at one point to make sure that I was all good for time.
“The next thing I know I’m on the floor.
“I don’t remember the impact of the accident at all but I was firmly planted on the pavement.
“I was dazed and in shock, I didn’t know what had happened.
“Everything was grey around me.
“One of the reasons I think it was dark was because the bus had just stopped over me.”
And despite suffering serious injuries, one of Sarah’s first thoughts was her job.
“The special deliveries have to be delivered by 1pm,” she said.
“I remember there was someone from Royal Mail there would had been flagged down in his van.
“I just remember saying to him ‘ I’ve got a special delivery in my bag and you need to take it’ and I just pointed where it needed to go.
“He just went and did it for me.”
Sarah was taken to Barnsley Hospital where she stayed for almost two weeks but she’s still going to need to wear a neck brace for the next month and a half.
She said: “I put my hands on my head and they were just covered in blood.
“Because of the skull fracture the doctors are saying I’m going to need to wear a neck brace for the next six weeks.
“I’ve also got slight nerve damage and my tongue’s not working properly.
“That’s playing havoc with my speech and eating which isn’t great.
“At the start I couldn’t even stand up and I was vomiting because of the concussion.”
Sarah admits she’s glad she’s been able to return home to her three dogs but says it’s going to be hard to rest given how active she usually is.
“Normally I walk 30,000 steps a day,” she said.
“I’m a very active person so it’s going to be hard.
“My legs are just covered in bruises.
“It’s certainly not ideal and how I wanted to spend Christmas.”
Sarah says she has received no contact from Stagecoach since the incident occurred.
A spokesperson told the Chronicle an investigation into the incident is underway.
They added: “One of our vehicles was involved in an incident in which a pedestrian was injured at around 12.50pm on Wednesday December 3, on Acorn Way in Grimethorpe.
“We understand the person involved was taken to hospital.
“Our first thoughts are for their welfare.
“Safety is our absolute priority.
“We are carrying out a thorough investigation into the cause of this incident."