Cambridgeshire teen fights for life after Zante crash

A teenager was left fighting for his life in hospital after suffering 12 fractured vertebrae, 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung during a €50 quad bike ride in Greece. Alfie Moses was in Zante with six friends on his first lads’ holiday to celebrate turning 18 when the accident happened last Monday. Speaking from Athens, where her son is now being treated, his mother Kayley Posnett said Alfie was riding at around 40mph when the crash happened after he clipped a raised edge on

the road and was thrown from the vehicle. The teen from Peterborough was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to Mediterraneo Hospital in Athens after doctors determined he needed further treatment for severe internal injuries. Alfie, 18, has also been diagnosed with a ruptured spleen, a brain bleed and a broken shoulder. Kayley, a teacher, said: “His friends that were in front of him said they were doing about 50 mph, and he was just behind them. “He fell off the bike, he

hit something, he went flying in the air and landed down a little cliffy bit, and the bike followed after him but didn’t land on him, it just went off. “He was taken to the Zakynthos hospital, and they stabilised him because he nearly died. They had to put a chest strain in, and they really didn’t know if he would survive or not.” His mum flew to Greece the following day. Kayley said communication barriers and the seriousness of his condition made the experience

extremely distressing, particularly when she first saw him in hospital. She added: “To see a child lying there in a bed and can barely talk and hardly look at you – he was in excruciating pain. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.” His mother said doctors initially feared a blood clot, but instead discovered bruising to his spinal cord caused by the damaged vertebrae. Alfie is now in intensive care and will require spinal surgery to stabilise his back, although

this has been delayed until his lungs are strong enough. He is also being treated with intravenous antibiotics after scans revealed lung contusions, which doctors are monitoring closely for infection. Despite the severity of his injuries, his mother said he is now showing signs of improvement and has begun speaking again after initially being unable to communicate. “He is doing a lot better now,” she said, adding that he has been described by staff as a “perfect patient” who remains positive. She added: “I can’t

thank this hospital enough because as soon as we got here, we had the ICU straight there speaking to us, saying that we’ve had a call, knowing he’s going to arrive. “We had a spinal expert. We had a brain expert. We had a neurosurgeon, all coming in at different times. He had a CT scan first. He had x-rays. And then they told us that the ribs would heal themselves, which was a positive sign. “For me as a parent, I feel comfort that

he’s in the right place right now. And the fact that me and his dad go and see him and he cracks a few jokes and he’s feeling positive. He couldn’t speak to us before, and now he’s able to speak. He’s very breathless, but he’s able to speak.” Doctors are hopeful he could eventually leave hospital in the coming weeks or months, although his recovery is expected to be long and complex. The family has already faced high medical costs, with initial treatment and

transport amounting to around £17,000 before ongoing hospital care and surgery. Kayley said quad bike exclusions on their insurance mean they are uncertain about coverage. She also raised concerns about safety standards in quad bike hire operations abroad, claiming similar incidents are common among young tourists. She said: “There’s people every week dying of injuries on a quad bike. These companies are baffling these young adults down, and they’re haggling them down, and they’re letting them have a quad bike for 50 euros – that

is a dangerous piece of equipment. “Alfie said if that quad bike was €150, he would not have gone on it. But because he went to one, they said 150 euros, he went to another one, and they said ‘you can have it for 50 euros’ so he paid 50 euros for the quad bike. They think it’s a fun thing to do. It’s not fun. These pieces of equipment are dangerous. They’re massive, massive quad bikes. “They don’t tell them that they don’t steer

well. You can’t control them well. They do 70 miles an hour. These young adults don’t have that type of brain to understand the dangers of driving on a road in another country.” Alfie remains in intensive care in Athens as doctors continue to monitor his condition ahead of planned surgery next week. It comes after British dad Ray Lally, 42, from Wolverhampton, died in a quad biking accident while on holiday in Greece with his 14-year-old son on the island of Corfu last month.

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Alfie Moses, Zante, Athens, Mediterraneo Hospital, quad bike crash, intensive care, spinal surgery, Peterborough, Kayley Posnett, Wolverhampton, Ray Lally