'Please think twice- it ruins lives'- Chesterfield crash victim's warning to drink drivers after horror smash left once active couple wheelchair-bound

Margaret Deaton says her life has been ‘ruined’ after she and her husband were left wheelchair-bound by the horror smash, which took place after they went out on a short drive in

Rowsley.

The 77-year-old described how she went from living an active lifestyle, going to the gym three or four times a week and helping out with her husband’s Staveley scrap business, to needing round-the-clock care.

Everything changed for the couple when, during the first lockdown on May 20 last year, Geoff felt restless and asked Margaret if she wanted to go out for a drive.

Approaching Bakewell, the couple spotted a man driving dangerously in the area, with Margaret telling Geoff as they drove past: “He’ll be in his coffin tonight.”

Turning onto the A6, Margaret was horrified when she saw the same driver in the middle of the road speeding towards their red Mercedes.

"I shouted, ‘Geoff, he’s going to hit us!’, and suddenly the airbags went off,” said Margaret, a former IT teacher and grandmother-of-three.

“At that point, I felt no pain. I was just numb. Geoff wasn’t moving and for a horrible moment I thought he was dead. Then as I concentrated on him, I saw he was breathing.

”I screamed Geoff, Geoff, we have to get out now- I was convinced the car was about to catch fire.”

The driver, Gary Franklyn from Bakewell, had also hit another vehicle from behind and narrowly missed other cars on the road along with a cyclist.

The emergency services arrived on scene and ‘bent the car like a banana’ said Margaret, crunching the doors to retrieve the couple.

Derbyshire man left elderly couple wheelchair-bound when he hit them head-on in drunken smash

Margaret, who suffered broken ankles, was transferred to a trauma unit at Nottingham where the next few weeks passed ‘in a blur’.

Due to the pandemic, she wasn’t allowed to receive visits from her devastated family who found out about the crash after Margaret’s grandson called her and a police officer answered.

Geoff, 75, suffered a bleed to the brain and spent more than three weeks in hospital. He fears he will have to sell his business after being told by medics that his foot, which was crushed in the incident, may have to be amputated.

The couple are currently living apart with Geoff being cared for by their son and Margaret by their daughter.

Franklyn admitted drink driving, failing to stop and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court.

Earlier this month Judge Robert Egbuna sentenced the 35-year-old, who had a previous conviction for drink driving, to two years in prison along with a four-year driving ban.

Margaret added: “Please don’t ever think about getting in a car after drinking. It’s taken away my independence.

"If our warning can stop this from happening to just one person, I’d be happy. It ruins lives.”

Daughter Samanthan Meynell, 49, said: “This has not destroyed my family, but it has inflicted changes I'd never want anyone to go through.

"Please, if you ever think about risking it after a drink- think twice, take a taxi. This has been heartbreaking for us.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.