A woman who lost two limbs after being hit by two trains says that she believes she could have escaped with just a broken nose.
Sarah de Lagarde had her right arm and right leg amputated after she fell onto the tracks at High Barnet’s station on the London Underground last year.
The 44-year-old was commuting back from her work when she slipped in a puddle and ended up falling off the edge into a gap between a stationary train and the platform edge.
The incident took place at around 10pm, and she broke her nose and 2 front teeth. Somehow, no one saw the mum fall off the edge.
Despite crying out for help, no one came to help de Lagarde.
“The train then departed and took my right arm with it,” she told Sky News.
She explained that then another train pulled into the station, which smashed into her right leg.
“I was still conscious after that and still determined to make it home,” she added.
“In my mind’s eye, I could see my two daughters and they were telling me ‘Mummy, you have to come home’.”
De Lagarde remained on the tracks for a further 15 minutes when someone finally called attention to her. It took another hour for emergency services to arrive at the scene.
“There was a series of things that delayed my saving,” she continued.
“I was told that switching off the power line took ages because no one knew who to contact, so the paramedics couldn’t get under the train to get me out of there.
“There were so many avoidable mistakes and failings that Transport for London (TfL) has allowed to happen.
“I have to live with the fact that it could have been just a slip and someone could have found me, and I could have just got away with just a broken nose.”
Doctors told de Lagarde that she could have died ten times that night, and that it was a complete miracle that she is still alive.
