Bedford train crash hero doctor says 'aftermath was like a war zone'

Bedford train crash hero doctor says 'aftermath was like a war zone' When the train she was on near Bedford crashed, Dr Eli ignored her own injuries to help others around her. She will receive a Special Recognition award at Pride of Britain in honour of her selfless, lifesaving action Seconds after a terrifying train crash, which killed the driver and left 162 injured, passenger Eleanor Prior could only hear an eerie silence. The GP and mum of two was sitting in the front carriage of the train, on her way to a friend’s 40th birthday in London, when it ploughed into a stationary train at around 50mph near Bedford in June. The force of the impact threw Dr Eleanor, known as Eli, around eight metres down the aisle, leaving her with multiple injuries. She says: “I remember seeing smoke and it was very quiet, with everything happening in slow motion. There was smashed glass and blood everywhere. It was like a war zone. “I rang 999 and yelled, ‘Bring everything, there’s been a train crash’. That’s when the noise started, the crying and screaming.” Eli dragged herself towards the doors as everyone tried to escape the smoke-filled carriage, but she realised that she had to stay and help the wounded. She was one of the first to call 999, then worked alongside emergency services to triage passengers and even refused an ambulance for herself, insisting it went to someone else. The 41-year-old, from Bedford, will win a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award at our star-studded celebration, which honours the nation's unsung heroes. She will receive a Special Recognition award at the event in partnership with P&O Cruises, in honour of her selfless, lifesaving action, despite her own injuries. It was June 19th when Eli, who lives with husband Chris and daughters Annie, four, and Lottie, three, left for her evening out. Speaking for the first time, Eli says: “I was meeting three of my best friends. The ticket officer suggested I get the next train as it was busy, but I didn’t want to be late.” Eli then chose a seat with nothing opposite, a last-minute decision she calls “a miracle” that saved her from worse injuries. She recalls: “I was typing on my phone. The next thing I’d travelled about eight metres. I’m not sure if I lost consciousness, but I hit my head. As I came to, my phone was somehow still in my hand. It was strangely quiet. I stumbled back to the doors. “I called 999. They kept asking what service I wanted and I was just shouting, ‘F***ing everything, bring everything!’ I called Chris and said, ‘I’ve been in a train crash’. “I remember feeling like I was going to pass out. I think I was hyperventilating. There was a girl who was shell shocked and we were just staring at each other. “Then two men managed to force open the doors. People started getting off the train if they could, crossing the track to the field. I remember thinking I should get off. Then I turned around and saw a woman lying on the floor. I thought, ‘God, no, I can’t get off the train. Look at these people.’” Chris, 40, a teacher, vividly remembers that first phone call. He says: “As soon as you hear ‘train crash’, you think, ‘That’s hugely destructive’. She was sobbing, then she had to go. “When she next called I could hear wailing and screaming in the background. She was frantic. I thought ‘Oh my God, is she going to die? Are there dead people on the train? What is happening?’ “Then she didn’t pick up the phone for ages. Your mind is racing with the absolute worst ‘what ifs’. “I thought either she’s dead or she’s helping people. I knew she wouldn’t get off that train if someone else was hurt. When we finally spoke, she said, ‘I’ve got to stay here’. She was talking to the people around her. She’d gone into responsibility mode.” Train driver Shaun Burton, 60, died in the crash, which happened at around 5.15pm at Elstow, about 2.5 miles south of Bedford Station. On the train, Eli was faced with passengers who had some of the worst injuries. Eli recalls: “The woman lying on the floor whispered, ‘I can't feel my legs.’ She was in horrendous pain and struggling to breathe. I knew it was a spinal injury. “Another woman was screaming. All the skin had come off her face and I could see her skull. Another lady had broken both legs, they were bleeding. Lots of people were vocally in pain, but I was most worried about the quiet ones. I was worried they would die.” Passenger Melanie Ross, a retired solicitor from Wellingborough, Northants, who broke her leg, says: “It was pandemonium, people were hysterical. Straight away I saw Eli on the phone, distinctive in her green dress. She looked very shaken and had clearly been thrown out of her seat. “She stood up and shouted, ‘My name’s Eli, I’m a doctor’. Then she sprang into action. If it hadn’t been for Eli, people would have died.” Eli says: “I find sirens really traumatic now because I remember holding people’s hands, tears rolling down my face, saying, ‘I can hear sirens. They’re coming to help us. Keep breathing, you’re fine.’” Millie Dudley, 21, a firefighter from Bedford Fire and Rescue Service, says: “As soon as I got on the train I saw Eli. She said, ‘I am a little bit injured, but I’m here to help.’ She didn’t think about herself despite going through that same thing, it was just amazing.” It was only at this point that Eli realised her hand was injured as she couldn't tie a tourniquet. However, she stayed with the injured, administering oxygen and pain relief, and helped a woman onto a spinal board. She also spoke to relatives who were calling passengers’ phones. Eli stayed with the injured, administering oxygen and pain relief. She says: “I was one of the last people off the train. I was trying to manage things for about three hours. “Outside, I realised that my back was horrendously bruised. I had a suspected broken foot but managed to walk across the field and asked if my husband could just pick me up.” Chris recalls: “She was covered in cuts and her jacket was caked in blood, most of it not hers. I just burst into tears. In the car she cried and said everything hurt. She was holding face in her hands saying how awful it was. “That’s when she realised, ‘I can’t deal with this’. She became Eli again, not the doctor.” Chris took her to Bedford Hospital and she was later discharged after X-rays and an ultrasound to check for internal bleeding. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch reports that the train passed a red light at 76mph, braking only seconds before the collision. The stationary train had stopped after the Automatic Warning System activated its brakes. Eli has since had operations for her broken right (dominant) hand, which needed a plate and five screws, and treatment for her foot, knee and back, and still has no grip in her fingers, though she has recently managed to return to work. The Fire Service and passengers reached out on social media looking for ‘the woman with the blonde hair in the green dress’ to thank her. Eli says: “My whole body hurt. It felt like I was in a train crash, literally. I’m still in a lot of pain and seeing a psychologist for the trauma. “It now feels like there's life ‘before the train crash’ and ‘after the train crash’. I need to get rid of that feeling.” Chris adds: “I told our little girls that Mummy’s train had crashed. They said, ‘Oh it’s good that Mummy was on the train because she’s a doctor’. All I wanted was for her to get off the train, but she couldn’t. She cares deeply about people. She sees a problem, she tries to help. “It could have been very, very different. But there’s a reason she ended up on that train and that she was able to help other people.” Dr Rob Willmore, from Essex & Herts Air Ambulance said: “Thank you for everything you did that day. You were absolutely extraordinary. The kindness and bravery you showed was humbling - your calmness and humanity made a world of difference.” *Don’t miss The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards on Thursday 22 October at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. [Image text:] LUTON EXPRES 60115