Cork woman says it is a miracle she didn't die in fatal M8 collision

Emergency services at the scene of the collision on the M8 motorway near Mitchelstown last July.

A Cork woman has said “it is a miracle” that she didn’t die in a car crash that ended her hopes of moving to Australia.

Occupational therapist Roisin Stakelum suffered life-changing injuries in a traffic collision last year after a teenager drove a stolen car the wrong way down the M8 motorway near Mitchelstown, Co Cork.

The incident saw 16-year-old Johnny Foley, the front seat passenger in the high-speed car, lose his life, while two seriously injured boys and a less seriously injured girl travelling in the back of the stolen vehicle.

The 17-year-old driver, who cannot be named as he is a juvenile, was sentenced to four years detention on Monday.

Ms Stakelum said during an interview with Neil Prendeville on Cork's Red FM on Tuesday the "dream" of moving to Australia was gone.

“I can’t see myself going to Australia now.

"It is too far and I don’t have the confidence now to do that, not with the experience of the last few months.

“Unfortunately, that dream is gone,” she said.

Ms Stakelum was due to go on holiday with her friend Niamh Hanley, before continuing her travels to Australia to start a new life.

Róisín Stakelum approximately one week before the M8 crash which she said was a "miracle" that she survived.

She remembers leaving her house in Glanmire just after midnight on the night of the collision and sending a text to Ms Hanley to let her know she was on her way to Dublin Airport. 

However, she did not get past Mitchelstown.

Ms Hanley could not figure out where Ms Stakelum was and after several missed calls, Ms Hanley reached out to Garda stations and toll bridges to find out if a crash occurred.

Ms Hanley also contacted Ms Stakelum’s sister in Australia to get a phone number for their parents.

“It was actually my sister in Australia who alerted my parents to the fact I didn’t make it [to Dublin Airport].

"This whole experience has had an absolutely detrimental effect on them [her parents] too, that can’t be understated.

“It absolutely tore them apart.” 

Ms Stakelum said she receives counselling, and medical attention is still ongoing several months later and she hopes to return to work and get behind the wheel of a car soon.

“I’m still not working and I’m still not driving and I think those two things are major components in my life.

“I’m working on them and I would like to go back and do both of those at some point. 

"They are my two current goals at the moment,” Ms Stakelum said.