Survivor of Grane Road crash which killed Megan Byrne speaks of her 'guilt'

Megan Byrne was just 22 and a newly-qualified teacher when she was killed in a crash on the Grane Road between Haslingden and Blackburn on February 20 2020.

Heather Pinn was the driver of the other car, and was on her way to meet a friend, with her daughter in a baby seat in the back.

The weather was poor, with high winds, sleet and rain, and as she was driving past the Grey Mare pub, a car appeared from around the corner on the wrong side of the road and heading straight for her.

The crash happened so quickly, Heather doesn’t recall whether she even had time to brake, but immediately after the impact, her first thought was for her daughter. Fortunately, she was unharmed.

Police collision investigators confirmed that both Heather and Megan were driving within the speed limit and both were wearing a seat belt at the time.

However, two of the tyres on Megan’s car were under-inflated, a major contributory factor in the crash.

Heather said: “Check your tyres, please, please check your tyres. Since I have gotten back to driving, I do it when I fuel up, once a month.

"Check them before long journeys. It’s so important, and if somebody else’s life can be saved because of this then that’s all we can ask."

Despite the emergency services confirming Heather was not at fault in any way, she still struggles with guilt on a daily basis, physical pain, depression and fears of sudden loud noises.

Time is slowly healing the worst of the trauma but the incident remains a harrowing, ever-present memory for her.

Heather continued: “I’ve got a lot of survivor’s guilt. I’m really guilty that I am still alive, even though I really want to be.

"I feel guilty for the fact that I am still here and Megan is not - and that’s really hard.”

Now Heather, like Megan’s parents John and Jo, are bravely trying to use the worst experience of their lives to raise awareness of the importance of checking tyres so others might avoid a similarly tragic incident.

Senior Investigating Officer, Sgt Steve Hardman from the Serious Collisions Unit, who was on duty on the day of the crash, said: “I really admire Heather for sharing her story.

"The impact an incident has on the other party is something that is often forgotten.”

Heather’s story shows how driving with under-inflated tyres can have disastrous consequences for other road users whose only fault is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tyres are a vehicle’s only contact point with the road and need to be in good, roadworthy condition to reduce the risk of being involved in an incident.

TyreSafe chairman, Stuart Jackson, said: “Heather’s story highlights the devastating ripple effect that driving on defective tyres can have on other road users.

"Heather had done nothing wrong and was on her way to drop off late Christmas presents to a friend – the next thing she knows, she’d been involved in a fatal accident and her life has changed forever.

"Drivers know they take responsibility for themselves and their passengers – Heather’s story should remind them they need to include other road users, too.”

The tribute to Megan Byrne and her tragic story can be found at tyresafe.org