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wanted to be successful like Terry. Perhaps one day he would have been. Alex liked
the good life. You must have seen that he had some of Terry's Jekyll and Hyde
nature. He could be all over the place one moment, and then walk into court and
be incisive and brilliant. Alex liked contrasts.'
I had seen Alex's 'Jekyll and Hyde nature' on Annapurna. I wasn't sure which
was the true Alex. But now, as we descended back down into the Duddon Valley, I
felt better that Sarah seemed so calm. I could also sense her grieving deeply.
We got back to the car in the late afternoon gloom and drove back towards Mil-
lom: down the Duddon, across the bridge, through the farm. We were about to dis-
cover that the ripples of fate were continuing to expand. A car travelling far too
fast came around the corner and hit us head on. The crash pushed us into a ditch.
All I could hear at first was the cries of the dog in the back. Then cries from the
other car.
'Oh my God, Sarah! Are you alright?'
'I think so, I can't tell yet.'
I quickly checked to see if there was any blood and was relieved to see that she
seemed okay. We both were wearing seat belts. Even the dog had now calmed
down and seemed unscathed. I forced open the door of the car, got Sarah out in
case of fire and began to deal with the aftermath. The four young men emerging
from the other car, rugby players from Barrow on their way back after a game in
Millom were not as lucky. I could see one was badly cut on the face having gone
through the windscreen and another's arm hung broken by his side. They were all
in shock. Within minutes,
the local bobby, a climbing friend from the nearby village of Broughton, ap-
peared on the scene.
'Oh it's you again John, is it? Looks like you've been extremely lucky. Here, put
these accident signs out for me will you.' [1] The rest of the evening was a blur. We
had something else to talk about apart from Alex, at least for one evening.
The crash was a defining moment for Sarah. She wondered what made her put
the seat belt on. Was it a premonition? Was there some other force at work? [2]
Maria Coffey recalled discussing the accident with her.
'Sarah said she never put on a seat belt, but something told her to do so. She says
she suddenly saw a car coming straight at her and thought, “this is it; I'm going to
die.” But after the smash and the tumult, she realised she was okay, and she said
for the first time she knew she really wanted to live. Before that, I was really con-
cerned for her. She was in such deep pain, and even though I was just finding a
way through my own pain after Joe, I couldn't really help her. After losing Alex,
she really didn't care, she just wanted to die.'
 
 
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