- Sarah de Lagarde had to have an arm and a leg amputated after two London Underground trains hit her.
- She'd slipped in a puddle and fell onto the tracks. No one heard her shouts for help.
This as-told-to article is based on a conversation with Sarah de Lagarde, a communications professional who had an arm and a leg amputated after being hit by two London Underground trains in September 2022. It has been edited for length and clarity.
It was a stormy night when I left work late on Friday, September 30, 2022. I decided to take the Tube because I couldn't get a cab. I fell asleep on the Tube and got off at the wrong station.
As I tried to board the Tube to go back into town, I slipped in a puddle on the platform, crashed against the train, and fell through the gap between the train and the platform, breaking my nose and teeth.
I screamed for help, but nobody heard me. The train departed and crushed my right arm. I continued to call for help, but nobody heard me.
A second train came into the station and crushed my right leg below the knee. I spent more than 15 minutes on the tracks with severe injuries. Eventually somebody noticed my screams and raised the alarm.
Emergency personnel airlifted me to the hospital. I had my right arm and leg amputated, and I spent three weeks in the trauma ward and six weeks in the rehabilitation center, where I learned how to walk again with a prosthetic leg.
A few months later I got a bionic arm with the help of a fundraiser my husband set up. I went to Madeira with my family earlier this year and work three days a week, with two days in the office.
But a year after the accident, I have severe PTSD and the sound of trains terrifies me. Beyond that, how can I give money to Transport for London when they have taken no responsibility and offered no financial compensation?
So I don't take public transport. I take a taxi to work, which is quite expensive.
My daughters are 9 and 12. I can't drive, and as they grow up, they will have to use public transport to get to their swimming classes and to their drama classes. The older one is using the transport network, including the Overground rail network, and I am terrified, I'm sick to my stomach every time they do because I feel that they're not safe. I beg her to be careful.
I could have been saved at various stages after I slipped, but the TFL has not accepted liability for what happened. They have not offered support and they have not made any changes on the back of my accident. And I find that unacceptable.
This fight for the TFL to hear me isn't just about me anymore because my limbs are not going to grow back. It's too late for me, but it's not too late for my kids. And it's not too late for the people taking millions of Tube journeys every day.
We don't know how strong we are until we have no choice. And I really believe that having two children has given me the motivation, not just to save myself on the night, but also to accelerate my recovery. And still today, my family, my daughters are my inspiration to not give up.
I am motivated to show to my daughters that our family life is not over.
Nick Dent, director of customer Operations at London Underground, told Insider: "Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah De Lagarde and her family following the devastating incident at High Barnet station last year. We have offered her direct support through our Sarah Hope line service and we remain receptive to Sarah's views about the network.
"Safety is our top priority and we continue to take every possible measure to learn from any incident and put in place appropriate improvements," Dent added.
TfL added that it was continuing to review where it might be appropriate to introduce platform edge doors and that they were installed in the full central London section of the new Elizabeth line.