Belfast woman Sarah Orr would like to reach out and thank everyone who stopped to assist her and her husband Phil after their car and caravan crashed beside Errigal on the Dunlewey side of Glenveagh National Park on Saturday evening.
The couple was towing the van with their car when strong winds and a bumpy road caused the caravan to start snaking. It became difficult to regain control and the car began to weave along the road.
Speaking to Donegal Daily Sarah explained; “We go on a holiday to Donegal every year, Phil has been going to Carrickfinn since he was a wee boy so we have a lot of friends there.
“We were on our way back from Carrickfinn, the road was worse than it was last year. We lost control of the van and the car began to snake and swerve. To avoid hitting a car coming towards us we swerved into a ditch and rolled over.”
Sarah says the experience terrified her, and that they are very lucky to escape the wreckage alive.
“We’re really lucky no one else was involved and that we walked out unhurt. The girl who saw it happen thought no one was coming out.
“There are so many people I’d love to thank. A girl came over with a blanket, people stopped and hugged us and held my hand. Everyone just gathered around and helped us.
“I was in shock and I don’t remember faces and names, I remember some faces, and I’ve found others on Facebook. Phil’s reaction to shock is to get things sorted but I was the opposite. Everyone was so good to me, someone gave me their coat and through Facebook I arranged to get it back to her.
“I want people to know how thankful I am. There was a psychiatric nurse there who helped calm me down. From what I remember and from what Phil told me, an off duty fireman, an off duty Garda, and a GP were also on the scene! We are also so thankful for all the help and support the emergency services provided. They were really understanding and made sure we were okay.”
“It was an act of God, there’s no way we should have come out of that. Apart from some aches and a few bruises we were relatively untouched. I think the marsh took the impact of the crash from the car.
“Roarty’s were also really good and helped us get the van and car back to Dunlewey.
“There was a woman, I think her name was Martha, who traveled to Dunlewey to make calls for me as there was no signal. I gave her my phone and told her which people to ring and she rang my mother-in-law and my husband’s cousin in Carrickfinn and she came back with my phone. That was awesome, she just helped no questions asked.
“It was just a real showing of basic human kindness and that’s how incredible people can be.
“There were loads of people who stopped, I wasn’t fully aware but I had about five or six women checking if I was okay, and men were helping Phil. It’s still hazy. Everyone came to the rescue so fast.
“We were amazed, it gives you faith in humanity with all the bad stuff happening around the world,” she said.
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