Mum’s shock after ‘miracle’ escape

Date published: 29 June 2009

A Delph mother-of-two has relived the moment her four-wheel-drive vehicle landed upside down at a 30ft drop near the spot of a previous fatal accident.

Julie Broadbent (44) was driving home along Ripponden Road yesterday after a visit to Oldham with her husband, Richard (45) just after a downpour hit the area.

Suddenly, their vehicle slipped off the road, crashed through a wall, somersaulted and landed upside down in a field.

“I am still coming to terms with what happened,” said Julie, who works at a bakery in Delph. “It all happened so quickly. I was driving along the road, which was wet, when the vehicle slid, went through a wall and down a hillside near Grains Bar.

“We seemed to roll over and over. There was glass everywhere — and we landed upside down. We were both very badly shocked.”

The couple were helped from the vehicle by concerned passers-by and taken to Bury General Hospital where they were allowed home after treatment.

Back home in Springwood, Julie, who is still recovering from the shock, said: “I still can’t take in just how lucky both my husband and I were to survive the crash. We have cuts and bruises — but luckily we are both alright. It’s a miracle.”

And she praised passers-by for their assistance until emergency services arrived.

“I can’t thank them enough,” she added. “They were marvellous.”

Julie works for baker Dee Wildes who owns a shop in King Street, Delph.

Dee, who visited Julie after the crash, said: “They are very lucky to be alive.

“The vehicle is a write-off. I am just glad she and her husband are both alright.”