An Isle of Wight woman is calling on car drivers to pay more attention to motorbikes as she continues to recuperate from a horrendous crash 6 years ago, which left her with a badly shattered ankle. 47-year-old Maria Iglesias-Garcia, a school teacher from Bembridge, was riding home on the back of her partner’s new Honda motorcycle in 2018 when the pair were struck. A car suddenly pulled out of a side road and crashed into them. The pair were catapulted off the bike and onto the other side of the road. Maria, who was in her final year of university at the time, remembers lying on the road and screaming in pain before being rushed to St Mary’s Hospital, where surgeons reconstructed her left ankle – which had shattered into tiny pieces – with metal pins and plates. Her partner Michael, 53, was also injured in the smash. She spent the next year-and-a-half on crutches, struggling to walk and relying on taxis to run errands, but refused to let the traumatic accident derail her dream of becoming a teacher and still managed to complete her university degree before going on to secure her dream job at a public school on the mainland a few years later, in 2022. After the accident, Maria took legal action against the driver and was awarded £195,000 in damages to cover future medical costs. She is now calling on car drivers to pay more attention to motorbikes, saying “the law says you have to wear a helmet but I could have lost my leg”. 
To this day, Maria said she has to take breaks when walking long distances and she is likely to require more surgery in the future to replace her ankle altogether. She can also no longer keep fit by running, which she really enjoyed before the accident, and can no longer wear high-heeled shoes. Maria, originally from Galicia in Spain, said:
“This has been a horrific ordeal. I wish I had never got on that bike. “For years I had to put my life on pause and I can never get that time back. I am still here and I didn’t die but when I think about all the things I could have done in that time it upsets me. “Now I feel I can no longer look nice in a pretty dress as I can’t wear high heels anymore to go with it when I go out. I still have a lot of pain and it’s never going to go away. “One thing is for sure, I will never get on a motorbike again.”
Maria has battled through her pain to become the Foreign Languages Teaching Lead at the private Cumnor House School in Croydon. She from the Isle of Wight at the start of the week, spending her weekdays at school before returning home to the Island at weekends. But the commute is hard as Maria still finds standing for long periods painful and has been left with some lower back pain. Maria has been told in the next 10 years she will need to have either ankle replacement surgery or ankle fusion surgery privately and still suffers from osteoarthritis, a condition where the protective cartilage on the ends of her bones has broken down. After the accident, she contacted Express Solicitors, who specialise in motorbike crashes, and with the help of her lawyer Colette McCann was awarded £195,000 in compensation in August 2023 after initially refusing a £30,000 settlement. Ms McCann said:
“Sadly Maria has learned the hard way how dangerous motorbikes can be. “This settlement will go some way to securing her future and shows just how quickly your life can change.”
I understand what she’s saying, but a good handful of riders pay no attention to cars and other road uses and use the road as a race track.
I am glad someone is finally speaking my language
Majority of Motorcyclists are Numpty’s who ride with
no due care and attention.
Majority of them should not be allowed out on our roads.
I ride a Motorcycle and I agree with you. I am continually watching other Bikes overtake on Zig Zag crossing lines and riding recklessly.
Many Motorcyclists are sensible, but I would say that there are
a lot who aren’t, putting other Motorcyclists at risk with
their actions.
I must say from what I see on a daily basis on
Island Roads, majority of Motorcyclists drive too fast
and overtake unnesseccarily on many Roads
especially along the Military Road, some
even do wheelies at speed.
Motorcyclists think they have 9 lives
THEY DON’T
That is why I am calling out to the new
Island MPs to address the speeding that
takes place on this island.
hows the move to the Island going?
Not going anywhere.
I will make the island Roads safe for everyone one to
use.
Come on Richard and Joe tackle the speeding problem on
the island.
‘You must see it yourself when you are out and about”
Sadiq Khan and Mark Drakeford had the Balls to implement
20mph and it’s been a large success.
Hopefully coming to the island soon
It’s had no effect on London. In Islington,who were first to implement the 20mph zone in London, nothing changed. It’s not policed & it would likely be the same on the Island. Police don’t even turn up to shop theft or review CCTV
Just been reading The Telegraph Newspaper as one does
and it states Labour will be charging motorists per mile.
Lol
Wait for the 20mph rollout to follow
It’s coming.
That will stop the boy and girl Racers.
Torygraph, always speaking the truth….
I don’t like victim blaming, but it also highlights the importance of proper gear, motorcycle boots, gloves, elbow/shoulder pads etc.
looks like they repaired that busted bone with my old school recorder. thought me mum had hidden it in the house an she worked for the nhs.
What do you expect from St Mary’s.
They still struggle to stick a plaster on.
And the award for dumbest comment goes to… yep, the Maggott!
There’s no way I’d have that sort of surgery done at St Mary’s.
The plate is displaced and needs looking at. I think she needs to be seen again to sort that out or it’ll always feel bad and will only get worse. It’s not good…
That was an ill-considered comment by Ms Mcann. It wasn’t a motorcycle that smashed Maria’s ankle and got £195,000 in damages awarded against them it was a car driver.
Good luck to you Maria, I hope you find something else to do that is as pleasurable as a motorbike ride on a warm evening. Oh and by the way, you look just fine without high heels.
I totally understand and agree with her request that car drivers need to be more careful at junctions as like her I was seriously injured when a car came out of a junction and hit our bike. however having not ridden a bike since, I still see bike riders without their lights on during the day, having the light on makes it just a bit more easier to see the riders
It’s been compulsory for every motorcycle to display a forward facing light for over 20 years. It’s literally in built.
The fact that you clearly haven’t seen this implies you may be part of the problem , and your comment not part of the solution.
.all bikes these days and for many years run with their lights on all the time, they are built that way..
Thesedays it’s not safe on 4 wheels, yet alone 2 wheels.
I used to ride a Ducati before moving to the island,
now I stick to my Transit Van, much safer.
I always look out for motorcycles especially when they are coming at me on my side of the road w**kers.
Living near the dual carriageway I would say bikers need to slow down hearing them screaming up there some of them must be doing 120mph+
Road humps will solve that problem, they just need spacing out
Every 50-100 metres, that will stop the dangerous B’stards
breaking the law.
Whilst i fully agree with her and feel sorry for what she is going through i have to say it is a two way thing, i am on the roads daily and am an ex biker and every day i see examples of the most horrendous bike riding with the worst offenders being big bike owners an learners who ignore speed limits and put other peoples lives at risk so my message to bikers is turn on brain and go easy on throttle before you become another statistic