A brave teenager ‘scalped’ after a horror smash that killed four men says she ‘doesn’t mind’ not wearing her wig because it’s "part of what happened".
Cheerleader Robyn Hoban, 17, was only discharged from hospital less than two weeks ago following the fatal crash in Leeds, West Yorkshire, in June.
Four others, Brandon Frew, 19, Caelan Megson, 21, Matt Walshaw, 18, and Declan Grove, 19, were pronounced dead at the scene in the Horsforth area.
The pals have previously been described as ‘the best lads you could ever meet’ and an inquest into their deaths has been opened and adjourned.
Passenger Robyn, who was 16 at the time, and a 17-year-old girl were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the shocking crash in the early hours of June 30.
A maxillofacial surgeon had to reattach Robyn’s scalp which involved a large number of staples and has left her with a large scar around her head.
But her recovery journey was made more bearable with the help and support from trauma charity Day One at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).
The not-for-profit service funded by Leeds Cares sourced the teenager a wig which helped give her her confidence back.
She courageously said: "It has made going back to school easier but I don’t mind not wearing the wig, it is part of what happened."
Robyn and the five others were travelling in a grey Seat Leon that collided with a Seat Alhambra being driven as an Uber.
The Uber driver, a 42-year-old man from Bradford, was also taken to hospital with serious injuries but they were not considered to be life-threatening.
Robyn’s mum Amanda, a medical secretary at St James’s Hospital, was woken by a call from her sister saying Robyn had been involved in an accident.
They went to the scene of the crash and went with Robyn to hospital. Amanda says the next days and weeks are a blur.
"We just took it day by day, in fact, we still are. Robyn has come such a long way but there is still a long journey ahead," she said.
Robyn was on a ventilator in intensive care for a number of days after being put into an induced coma.
Her father Paul said: "We know how lucky we are. It is a miracle she survived.
"But our thoughts go out to those families who lost a child – that could easily have been us.
"The whole community has been rocked by what happened."
Roofer Paul spent a month sleeping on a camp bed next to his youngest daughter, whose older sister is called Rebecca, 19.
"You watch her every movement from the first twitch of her finger," he added.
"When she came round she put her hands to her head and felt that she had no hair and started to panic so I told her what had happened."
As well as the procedure on her scalp, Robyn had surgery to her pelvis which now has two screws in it, which she hopes will be removed soon.
After five weeks in the LGI she was moved to Chapel Allerton last month where she had to undergo neuro rehabilitation which is ongoing as she tries to get her life back to normal.
Robyn has since received support from psychologists to help her come to terms with what happened.
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She was yesterday speaking at an event in Leeds to celebrate the fourth anniversary of trauma service Day One – which supported her after the accident.
The service, which has helped more than 400 people, is to be expanded across all West Yorkshire hospitals.
Her experience over the last two months has helped Robyn decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
Robyn, who played netball for West Yorkshire and is a cheerleader, broke her pelvis, neck and ribs.
She was also ‘degloved’ which meant her scalp was torn off.
But Robyn was determined to return to Horsforth High School this week to gradually resume her A-level studies having only been discharged from hospital less than two weeks ago.
Her experience over the last two months has actually helped her decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
She said: "I had no idea what I wanted to do before the accident, but the care and support I got from all the staff the LGI and then at Chapel Allerton Hospital made me realise I really want to be a nurse.
"I want to give something back."
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