British backpacker may need leg amputated after huge moped crash on Thai island
A British backpacker may need to have his leg amputated after a horror moped crash on a Thai island.
Arron Rouse was riding a scooter on a dark road to his home after work when he skidded and flew off on the island of Koh Yao Noi in Phang-nga province on the night of December 16.
He was thrown into an isolated area with several broken ribs and an open wound on his legs but he had to crawl for about half a mile to reach a small house only to find it was empty.
Arron, from Worcestershire, fought to drag himself to his house and passed out before his cousin found him covered in blood in his room the next day.
He was rushed to Koh Yao Chaipat Hospital and later transferred to another facility.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge himHis doctors are now rushing to prevent an infection on his leg with urgent surgeries so they wouldn't have to cut them off.
Arron said: "I crashed my moped in Thailand and busted up both of my legs pretty bad.
"I have a few ribs broken and an open wound on my leg.
"I didn't get proper treatment straight away because the hospitals in Thailand aren't the same and now it is infected and need surgery as soon as possible otherwise the infection can get worse and I could lose my leg."
Arron's cousin thought the hospital could not treat him and arranged for a boat to take him to the nearby island of Phuket.
The initial surgery was paid for by himself and his family.
His friend in Australia to set up a fundraising campaign on gofundme.com on January 8 as he did not have enough money for more medical treatment.
Arron had a free travel insurance policy with his bank, but did not activate it before his trip.
He needs around £5,000 for further surgery.
The backpacker added: "I'm in quite a bit of trouble as I'm far away from home, can't work and need more money for more surgeries."
Disabled woman paralysed after falling from wheelchair on plane walkway diesThailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.
However, a lack of road safety education in schools, cheap loans for cars, notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws as well as endemic corruption and chronic under-investment in infrastructure hamper the efforts.
Earlier this month The Mirror reported how an Irish tourist who tragically died after falling from a moving train in Thailand opened a carriage door to take a selfie, a fellow passenger claimed.
Irish national Patrick Ward, 45, entered Bangkok on a tourist visa on Boxing Day and was on a guided railway tour to Kanchanaburito when tragedy struck.
After slipping he fell from the carriage to the track and then 25ft down a slope while the train slowed at a picturesque spot along the route.
A fellow passenger said Mr Ward died after trying to capture a selfie of the scenic setting by hanging out of the door.
Cheewarat Bee, a Thai woman on the train at the time, recounted what happened as she watched the tourist fall.
She said "He walked and passed me to the toilet and there was a tourist guide stood near the toilet who told him not to go out.
"She was the one who closed the train's door because her clients wanted to go out to take photos.
"Mr Ward went to the toilet and he opened the door and went outside, between the train bogies."
She added: "He tried to take selfies and slipped from the stair."