RTC survivor cautions others to 'fully understand' PSNI and PPS processes
A Derry man who sustained life-altering injuries in a road traffic collision on the M2 motorway outside Belfast has urged anyone in a similar position in future to make sure they fully understand the investigative and decision-making processes of the PSNI and the PPS respectively.
Leo Flanagan from the Glen area of the city said it was inexplicable to him that the driver who crashed into his family car and “devastated four lives” was charged with only two counts of causing grievous bodily injury by driving dangerously.
In addition, only two of the four injured were asked to provide Victim Impact Statements for the resulting court case.
Recalling the horrific events of January 31, 2025 which also left his wife, Anne, and daughters, Tracey and Claire, seriously injured, Leo said the family had set off for Belfast for “a joyful occasion”.
“My three-year-old great grandson Daniel was ringing the bell in the Royal Victoria Hospital that morning to signify the end of his cancer treatment. He had been in hospital for six months and he was getting home. We were going up for a joyful occasion and we all ended up in the Royal,” said Leo, who had been driving the car.
“There was a long tailback of traffic on the M2. I was stopped. I can't remember how long we were sitting but then I heard an unmerciful bang. I thought it was an explosion,” he added.
There were four people seriously injured in the crash, yet two of them were ignored. I am not so much disappointed in the sentencing but I am angry at the way Anne and Claire have been treated, as if they are unimportant. It is completely unjust.
“We were sitting in the M2 lane and the driver of the car which hit us was in the M3 lane. He tried to get around us and he hit the rear diver’s side of our car, which spun around and was facing in the opposite direction.
“I don't know where he was coming from, but he was coming the wrong way. He was moving from lane to lane. He hit us with such force I thought it was an explosion.
“I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this, his car, when he hit us, bounced off our car and ended up a considerable distance away,” said Leo.
Anne, whose ribs were badly bruised in the crash, was able to get out of the car. Claire, who was in the seat behind her mother, sustained a head injury. She was unconscious for a while, and subsequently had to attend Urology with a bladder injury. Her head smashed her window.
“Tracey had 12 bleeds in her brain following the crash. The impact was so great, the back axle of Leo’s car was pushed right up to her back and her seat ended up squashed into the driver’s seat and her leg went under the seat, leaving her with numbness.
“One of the police officers on the scene told me he had seen cars that were less damaged where all the passengers had ended up dead,” said Leo.
“Tracey was unconscious and had to be cut out of the wreckage,” he added. “Anne was calling Tracey and she wasn’t answering. It was horrendous. We thought she was dead, ” added Leo, who suffered nine cracked ribs, bruising on the bottom of his heart, and cuts to his head, leg and knuckles.
“I also damaged my vocal cords which have never recovered.
“Luckily there were medics in the car behind us. A man was taking his wife up to the Royal for treatment. She got into the car with Tracey and started talking to her. Her husband was also talking to Tracey, trying to bring her around. It seemed like ages.
“Four paramedics also appeared on the scene, on their way to work, and two doctors who helped us from the word go, before the emergency services reached us. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all of the people who came to our aid that morning. I will never forget them,” said Leo.
Anne, Claire and Tracey were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital by ambulance. Leo, who was determined to see his great grandson ringing the bell, went to the hospital in his son’s car. He had been in the car behind Leo - the whole family going to the Royal for the special ceremony.
“When that was over, I went down to Accident and Emergency,” said Leo.
“The adrenaline kept me going. It was the worst day of my life.”
The case against Gareth Purdy (23) who crashed into Leo and his family was considerably delayed due to the strike by criminal barristers, which ended in June 2026.
Purdy, from Carrick Road in Newtownabbey, appeared in Belfast Crown Court on September 1, 2026, charged with two counts of causing grievous bodily injury by driving dangerously on the M2. He received a 15-month sentence which was suspended for 30 months. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The Court heard that on January 31, 2025, Purdy had failed to observe caution signs on the motorway leading to the junction, then failed to observe a queue of stationary traffic on the slip road until he was almost upon it. He then collided with one of the stationary vehicles. Defence barrister Michael Boyd said prior to the collision “something had distracted [Purdy] and he had not been looking at and did not see the traffic in front of him.
As a result of his experience with the PSNI and the PPS, Leo said he cannot understand why Anne and Claire’s injuries were not considered in the charges and why they were not asked to provide Victim Impact Statements.
“There were four people seriously injured in the crash, yet two of them were ignored. I am not so much disappointed in the sentencing but I am angry at the way Anne and Claire have been treated, as if they are unimportant. It is completely unjust,” said Leo.
In a statement to The Derry News, a spokesperson for the PSNI said: “Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Road Policing Unit conducted a thorough investigation of a serious road traffic collision on the M2 near the Fortwilliam Junction, Belfast, on Friday, January 31, 2025.
“Following this investigation a man was reported to the Public Prosecution Service for a number of offences. As is usual procedure these offences are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.”
A spokesperson for the PPS said: “A PPS spokesperson said: “We received an investigation file from the PSNI in June 2025 reporting an individual for consideration in connection with a road traffic collision in Belfast on 31 January 2025.
“Following careful consideration of all the available evidence, a decision to prosecute the individual in the Crown Court for two counts of causing grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving, contrary to the Road Traffic Order 1995, issued.
“Other occupants of the vehicle were also injured. However, having carefully considered all the available evidence, we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support further charges in respect of those injuries. All decisions were taken only after a thorough and impartial assessment of all the evidence and the application of the Test for Prosecution.
“This does not diminish the fact that this was a distressing incident for everyone involved. Once we became aware of the victims’ concerns through the media, the prosecutor contacted them directly. Our offer to explain the decisions made in this case to the victims and answer any questions they have remains open, should they wish.”