A mother is stranded in a hospital in Turkey after a horrific accident saw her “thrown” off a cliff with her 10-year-old son.
Rebekka Kelly, 30, booked a safari excursion during a vacation with her son Sonny.
The engine on their original buggy “failed” and, though they were given another vehicle, they experienced problems with the steering and the buggy “flew off a cliff”.
Rebekka, who said her seatbelt also failed, was “thrown out of the buggy” and lost consciousness.
She’s broke seven vertebra in her spine and her pelvis had internal bleeding.
The mom has been in hospital for the two weeks since the crash, as she’s had two operations. The tourist, from the UK, fears the insurance does not cover her and she faces hospital bills of more than $50,000.
“I booked with the TUI rep at the hotel and it was advertised with insurance cover. I had vacation insurance myself but that won’t cover the accident because it’s classed as an off-road sport,” Rebekka said.
“But despite advertising the excursion with insurance cover, we haven’t heard anything as to whether I will be covered. My sister-in-law has called every Tom, Dick and Harry but is getting nowhere. I’m fed up, I just want to get home.
“While the steering failed, my seat belt failed to keep me in the buggy and I was thrown out down the cliff, thankfully Sonny’s seatbelt kept him in. I feel if my seatbelt actually did it’s job I wouldn’t have the injuries I have.”
The crash happened on September 2 – seven days into the vacation in Antalya, a popular holiday destination on Mediterranean Sea.
Now the family have set up a GoFundMe to raise money to pay for expenses and a medical flight home.
Rebekka’s brother Rocky, said 10-year-old Sonny is back in the UK with him, “battered and bruised” and extremely upset. Trying to get his sister home, he said they “just don’t know what to do”. He said online, the trip “advertises insurance as included”.
He added: “The hospital have been hounding her for money, she’s been there for two weeks. She was told she could come home via air ambulance this week but nothing has been arranged.
“She had her own vacation insurance but the small print said they weren’t insured for this accident, they were nice don’t get me wrong but the TUI excursion advertises its own insurance cover as part of the deal.
“She’s in a bad way. She can’t get out of bed, she’s away from her two children. TUI aren’t getting back to us, we need to get her back home so she can have more surgery in the UK but we can’t get through to anyone.
“We are really concerned about her. If TUI aren’t willing to pay out the insurance and pay the medical bill we don’t know what we are going to do, we don’t have that kind of money and through no fault of her own she’s facing this.
“These injuries are going to change her life and we still don’t know the true extent until she’s home. Sonny is crying, he’s in so much pain emotionally. We’ve made hundreds of phone calls to TUI, they are supplying flights so we can see her but we’ve heard nothing about the insurance cover.
“We haven’t a clue what is going in. It says on the advert the price includes insurance so why aren’t they helping? Rebekka is really struggling. She has no memory of how she got to the hospital, she was knocked unconscious.”
Rocky went on to say he feels they are being “neglected” by TUI and fear how they can raise the funds to get Rebekka home.
You go to a shithole country, you get shitty equipment. You have to be very careful, when visiting shitholes!