Teacher who suffered horror motorbike crash that shattered ankle into tiny pieces cannot wear high heels six years later

A Spanish teacher involved in a horrendous crash while riding on the back of her partner’s motorbike in 2018 that shattered her ankle was later awarded a six-figure settlement but said she still suffers pain and cannot wear high heels.

Maria Iglesias-Garcia, 47, a school teacher from Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, and her partner Michael, 53, were driving home from his vape shop in Newport when they were struck by a car and sent flying across the road.

Maria, who was in her final year of university at the time, remembers lying on the road and screaming in pain before being rushed to hospital, where surgeons reconstructed her left ankle with metal pins and plates.

She spent the next year-and-a-half on crutches, struggling to walk and relying on taxis to run errands, but refused to let the traumatic accident derail her dream of becoming a teacher and still managed to complete her university degree before going on to secure her “dream job” at a public school in London a few years later, in 2022.

After the accident Maria took legal action against the driver and was awarded £195,000 in damages to cover future medical costs – she is now calling on car drivers to pay more attention to motorbikes, saying “the law says you have to wear a helmet but I could have lost my leg”.

To this day, Maria said she has to take breaks when walking long distances and cannot run properly, which used to be one of her favourite activities, and she is likely to require more surgery in the future to replace her ankle altogether.

“I wish I had never got on that bike,” Maria, who is originally from Galicia in Spain, told PA Real Life.

“For years I had to put my life on pause and I can never get that time back.

“I am still here and I didn’t die but when I think about all the things I could have done in that time it upsets me.

“Now I feel I can no longer look nice in a pretty dress as I can’t wear high heels anymore to go with it when I go out.

“I still have a lot of pain and it’s never going to go away.

“One thing is for sure, I will never get on a motorbike again.”

Maria was in her final year of studying to become a teacher at London South Bank University and had been working at Michael’s vape shop in Newport in July 2018 when her life “changed in an instant”.

She was travelling home on the back of her partner’s new Honda motorbike when a car suddenly pulled out of a side road and crashed into them.

The pair were catapulted off the bike and on to the other side of the road.

“The car hit my leg and I just remember being on the floor, on the other side of the road, and I was in so much pain, I was screaming,” she said.

“I was worried about Michael who was also on the other side of the road and there were lots of people around, police, firemen…”

Maria was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital, on the island, where doctors found her left ankle bone had been shattered into tiny pieces.

“It was terrifying to hear that at the time as I didn’t know if I would ever walk again,” she said.

She underwent two rounds of surgery to rebuild her ankle with metal pins and plates before being discharged five days later.

Maria described the next six months as the most “painful and traumatic” of her life as she was unable to walk.

“I didn’t know then if I could ever become a teacher,” she said.

“I was really low and was in so much pain.”

During this time the couple’s only source of income was Michael’s vape shop, so they could not afford to stay at home and relied on taxis to get around.

They took it in turns to manage the store while juggling hospital appointments and recovering.

“We were living off his business,” said Maria.

“I was often in the house on my own and was barely able to move.

“I had to order food but my leg was really, really bad and I couldn’t walk so I couldn’t go shopping or anything like that.”

Not wanting to give up on her dream of becoming a teacher, Maria managed to complete her final year of university.

“In September, I went back to university and for the whole year I had to wear a cast and use crutches,” she said.

She was then hoping to complete her PGCE, but was forced to postpone by a year due to ongoing complications with her ankle.

“In December 2019, I had another operation to remove some of the metal work in my foot,” she said.

“So altogether, I spent around a year-and-a-half on crutches.”

After completing the course in 2021, Maria applied for a job as a part-time teaching assistant, fearing that a full-time role would be too demanding, and was successful.

But she did not give up and in 2022, three years after the accident, she landed her dream job as a foreign languages teaching lead at private Cumnor House School in Croydon.

To get to work, Maria has to commute two hours each way once a week as she said there were no teaching jobs on the island at the time.

“I get the ferry from the island to the mainland and train to and from school and get home on Friday night and leave again on Sunday night for school all week,” she said.

Even though she can now walk short distances, Maria’s ankle still gives her grief and she cannot stay standing for long periods of time.

After what happened, Maria said she will never get on a motorbike again and even gets nervous travelling by car.

Wearing high heels is also no longer an option for Maria, who finds them extremely painful and finds trainers are the most comfortable.

“It’s a little bit upsetting because I remember for my graduation, I tried wearing high heels with my dress,” she said.

“But I could only wear them for a few seconds and had to take them off immediately because I couldn’t walk.

“I just put them on for the picture.

“I don’t go out much but if I want to wear something nice, like for a wedding, I have to wear my nice dress with horrible footwear.”

Maria has been told in the next 10 years she will need to have either ankle replacement surgery or ankle fusion surgery privately, and still suffers from osteoarthritis, a condition where the protective cartilage on the ends of her bones has broken down.

After the accident she contacted Express Solicitors, who specialise in motorbike crashes, and with the help of her lawyer Colette McCann was awarded £195,000 in compensation in August 2023 after initially refusing a £30,000 settlement.

Ms McCann said: “Sadly Maria has learned the hard way how dangerous motorbikes can be.

“This settlement will go some way to securing her future and shows just how quickly your life can change.”