A FAMILY who cheated death when their 4x4 plummeted off a mountain road on a TUI holiday day trip have warned other tourists: “Steer clear.”
Jeanette Tumbridge was celebrating her 60th birthday with eight relatives at a hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, when they were won the excursion in a treasure hunt.
They were delighted at first but it quickly turned into a nightmare when they were faced with a string of safety failings.
Four of the group went on the trip in a Land Rover up the Troodos Mountains, including Jeanette’s daughter Kristina O’Connell, 32.
She said: “We were a bit alarmed right from the start.
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“Two of us didn’t have seatbelts, the driver kept checking his phone and when he took off, instead of going to a roundabout and coming back he just sped over the central reservation.
“We assumed this was all normal for Cyprus so we didn’t say anything.
“At first it was fine but as we drove higher the weather turned.
“We kept going off road, even when the heavy rain came in, although other vehicles up there that day stayed on the proper roads.
“As we got higher the weather got worse and the windows were steaming up.
“The driver was using his shirt to wipe the windscreen clear.
“I was getting concerned and my mum said she wanted to go home but we kept going up.
“Then all of a sudden we went round a sharp bend and my mum suddenly shouted: ‘no, no’ and we started rolling.
“He had accelerated as he went round the bend but lost control and we went over and rolled twice before slamming into a tree.
“That was lucky because it stopped us plunging down the cliff.
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“The police later told us that if we not hit the tree we would have fallen hundreds of feet and would definitely have died.
“I was knocked out. When I came round I clambered out with the rest of them.
“We had to get out as quick as possible because it could have fallen further down the cliff.
“My mum suffered head injuries and severe whiplash and an ambulance was called to take her to hospital.
“The driver broke a bone in his shoulder and later claimed to police that he couldn’t remember anything that happened.
“We later learned there had been warnings for heavy rain which is why the other vehicles stayed on proper roads.
“But our driver just ignored the warnings.
“It is peak holiday booking season now and lots of people will be going to Cyprus.
“They will be tempted by these trips because they look a lot of fun.
“But my message to them is to not go anywhere near them.
“They are really dangerous – we could have been killed.”
Admin worker Jeanette is still suffering severe neck pain three months after the incident.
Operations manager Kristina, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, added: “She has been told it could be a couple of years before she has fully recovered and she is now classified as disabled because of it.”
Also in the Land Rover were Jeanette’s brother-in-law David Gorton, 73, a retired sign maker, and her son-in-law Lee Evans, 43, an IT engineer, both of Broxbourne.
Kristina said: “Lee was a real hero. He helped everyone out of the vehicle.
“It could have been so much worse. We are lucky to be alive.”
They are now suing TUI for compensation over the near-tragedy.
Kristina said: “Every other vehicle we saw that day stayed on the main roads, but we kept going off road and we nearly paid for it with our lives.
“It should never have happened.”
A spokeswoman for TUI said: “We are really sorry to hear about Ms O’Connell’s experience.
“We have been in direct contact with the customers to explain how to process their complaint with our legal team, therefore we are unable to comment further.”
