Yeah… This really happened. A jockey from Northern Ireland has told news outlets how he was run over by the ambulance sent to help him, after his own horse kicked him in the face.
Chris Meehan had his leg broken by an ambulance after his horse knocked him out, gave him a broken nose and left him with a cut in his jaw that needed 27 stitches. The jockey was in Italy for a hurdle race when the horse kicked him.
“The starter came over to help me because I was on my back and choking on my blood,” he said, “He put me in the recovery position, with my right leg out straight.
“As if (my injuries) weren’t bad enough, the racecourse ambulance came up alongside us and reversed up onto my leg. They stopped it on top of my leg, so I started screaming, but it broke it straight away. Everyone around me had to push it off me. You have to laugh, really.”
He had planned to return to jump races after a stint on the flat courses, but now the poor guy has to have at last two months off before he can start riding again.
Chris returned to Northern Ireland today for surgery on his leg and face, and was able to see the funny side of the incident.
It gets better though – in what can only be described as absolute irony, Chris’ father teaches paramedics how to drive ambulances. He added, “What makes it worse is my father, brother and aunt are all ambulance people. My father actually teaches most people in Northern Ireland and England how to drive the ambulances.
“It’s just bizarre – you couldn’t make it up.”