Irish rally driver ‘lucky to be here' after horror crash as he thanks quick-thinkers for ‘actions that saved my life'
FERMANAGH rally driver Garry Jennings revealed he is "lucky to be here" following a horror car crash.
Jennings and co-driving teammate Brian Hoy were hospitalised with serious but non-life-threatening injuries from the accident on Sunday's Cavan Stages.
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Garry Jennings before the Joule Donegal International Rally in 2022
Credit: Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile
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Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy in their Ford Fiesta Rally 2 during day two of the Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally Round 5 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in 2024
Credit: Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile
Their Ford Fiesta Rally2 car was rendered a write-off due to the force of the crash which saw it collide with a tree.
Jennings was diagnosed with a broken leg, sternum, shoulder and wrist, while Hoy was taken to Dublin with a broken leg and arm.
But
He said: 'I have been rallying for 25 years and I have never been involved in anything as big as what happened on Sunday.
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"There have been a few pictures of the car on social media and when I saw them, I said, 'No one is coming out of that alive'.
"I am very lucky to be here – I honestly believe that I have missed my destination with death, that is how bad it was.'
Jennings owed gratitude to four quick-thinking people.
The duo were trapped int the car which was on its roof at the side of the road in a field for more than an hour.
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At this point, fellow racers Cathan McCourt and Barry McNulty, and Declan Boyle and Paddy McCrudden, intervened to free them from the car and save their lives.
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Jennings explained: 'Without a doubt, their actions saved my life and the life of Brian as well.
'A group of spectators slowed them down and said that we were dead and not to bother checking on us.
"Thankfully they did and myself and Brian are both alive to tell the tale.
'I was drifting in and out of consciousness when they arrived.
"They were calling my name and when they checked my airways, they could see I was choking on my tongue.
"They sorted that and stayed with us for about an hour until we were finally freed from the car.
"Without a doubt those four fellas kept us going.
"We both owe our lives to them."
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