A grieving daughter has told of the horrifying moment she watched medics battle to save her parents in a crashed car.
Catherine Patterson became trapped in the driver's seat after a head on smash which claimed her father Gary's life in East Ayrshire in Scotland, Daily Record reports.
The 35-year-old was helpless as she became trapped in the car on the A713 near Patna while ambulance crews tried to save Gary and her mum Miriam after the accident on July 22.
Grandfather Gary, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene while his wife Miriam, 62, was taken to Ayr Hospital before being airlifted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Her injuries were minor and the retired guidance teacher is now back at home in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire after making a miraculous recovery.
Catherine, who was conscious while the horror unfolded in front of her eyes, told the Daily Record : "It was a quite a surreal experience because I couldn't actually believe what had happened, had happened.
"It was like watching it from afar. Even though I was in the car and I could see what was happening with my dad, I could see what was happening with my mum - I just couldn't quite take it all in."
The family had driven through to Castle Douglas before the incident happened.
Catherine said: "My dad had been golfing with my uncle and my mum and I and my two cousins had just been pottering about the shops.
"We'd had a lovely day and we were just heading back down the road, then near Patna we had a head on collision.
"As the driver I could see the accident just as it was about to happen, which has been difficult.
"My injures weren't anywhere near as bad as my mum's - I was conscious throughout the whole event.
"My dad was taken out first, he was in the back.
"The emergency services were brilliant, they tried their very best to save him first.
"My mum was next to be taken out then I was last. I was trapped in the car for about two hours while this was happening."
Gary was one of two men to die in the collision between their blue BMW 4 series, a black Volkswagen Sirocco and a silver Vauxhall Mokka. The 35-year-old driver of the Sirocco also died.
Catherine, who had suffered minor injures including internal bruising, contacted her sister, Judith Roberts, who travelled to Glasgow to see her mum.
Her brother Adam Patterson - who works down south - drove seven hours up the road to be with the family.
Catherine, already devastated by the loss of her father in front of her eyes, admits she didn't think her mum was going to make it.
She said: "I witnessed them working on my dad and I knew that he had died at the scene.
"Then I worried that I was also going to lose my mum, based on what I could see when I was in the car.
"The nurses at Crosshouse were wonderful, they called through to Glasgow to keep me updated on how my mum was doing.
"Mum was rushed for an operation when she arrived at hospital to save her life.
"I don't know how these people do their job, with the pressure they are under and everything else. But she arrived at the hospital and my sister saw her very briefly, then she was taken away for the life saving surgery."
Miriam says she tragically had to be told what had happened to her husband while she recovered following her operation.
Miriam said: "I have no memory of the accident. On the approach I was looking down at my phone, playing music on Spotify, so I didn't see anything.
"The first memory I have is when I was in high dependency in the hospital. Having had surgery then having been in intensive care for a few days, I was well sedated.
"I asked Judith, 'what about your dad? How is your dad?'
"As things were starting to dawn on me I was asking myself, 'where am I? Why am I here' - then I realised I had to ask that question.
"Unfortunately she had to tell me that Gary had passed away. That was pretty tough."
The crash happened 10 days before the couple's ruby anniversary and retired music teacher Gary had planned for the whole family to go away on holiday to mark the 40 years of marriage.
The family instead marked the occasion in hospital on August 1 - and Miriam was very grateful to be allowed to attend her husband's funeral.
Miriam suffered multiple injuries, including four broken limbs – ankles and wrists – and significant internal organ damage.
Following the crash she spent the next seven days in critical care as doctors worked to keep her alive.
Once stable, she was the first ever patient to be transferred to the new dedicated Major Trauma Ward 1C, where she received highly integrated care from a range of specialists who worked closely on both her immediate recovery and rehabilitation.
Miriam said: "The staff were wonderful. I wasn't even able to feed myself but I had staff, nurses and care assistants to help me.
"Then my consultant spoke to me about this new major trauma unit and that I would be an ideal candidate to be the first ever patient having experienced the trauma that we had been through."
Remarkably Miriam was discharged in less than 10 weeks.
She has now been back home recovering for seven weeks and she hopes to make a full recovery.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Enquiries into this incident remain ongoing."
