BBC Radio London presenter Jo Good has spoken publicly for the first time since surviving the June 19 Bedfordshire train crash, which left her with four fractures to her face. The 71-year-old DJ was a passenger on the 4.40pm East Midlands Railway service from Corby to London St Pancras when her carriage was struck from behind by the 3.50pm Nottingham to London St Pancras service, causing it to partially roll. The collision killed East Midlands Railway driver Shaun Burton and injured 162 people, with 102 requiring hospital treatment, including Good.
Return to the Airwaves
On her Late Night Jo show on Friday, July 3, Good described the incident as a 'sliding doors' moment in her life. She recounted the immediate aftermath: 'In movies, there's always screaming and high drama. There wasn't any. It was silent actually, people in the deepest shock.' Passengers' phones began receiving messages telling them 'you have been in a crash' accompanied by a siren. Good praised a 'very, very, very brave guard' who arrived to manage the evacuation as she lay on the floor with items falling around her.
Evacuation and Injuries
Because the accident occurred in a remote location and the carriage had partially rolled, passengers were forced to jump down when disembarking and then wait in a nearby field. Good hit her face when she was thrown from her seat, causing the fractures. She noted that her decision to take an earlier train than planned led to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'That's really what our lives are like. I took a train that I wouldn't have taken. I took a train that was an earlier train than the one I was meant to be taking. I sat in a carriage that was a safer carriage. All of these things that are sliding door moments,' she said.
Praise for NHS Response
Good had nothing but praise for the 'extraordinary' response of NHS staff at Bedford Hospital and University College Hospital in London, who treated her. 'I just cannot praise them highly enough. They said they'd trained for this for 11 years... and they said, 'we never thought we'd have to do it, to practice it'. But it was like clockwork,' she told listeners. The 'near-death experience' has shifted her perspective on life: 'The end result is that life is so precious... and it's made me realise I need to prioritise my friends.'
Investigation Ongoing
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) continues to investigate the crash. In an interim report, they acknowledged that the express train proceeded past a red signal near the scene. They added that 'it is not yet possible to say what indication the driver received' from the automatic warning system (AWS) equipment fitted to the train.
