A MUM and daughter from Worcester are stranded in Montenegro with “horrific” injuries after being hit by a car as they walked home from a shop.
Helen and Nell Barratt, who live near Rainbow Hill, have been in hospital for a week in serious conditions after flying in to the Budva coastal town for a reunion with older daughter Ella and her boyfriend.
Helen, 53, and Nell, 19, were rushed by ambulance from the roadside unconscious after the driver allegedly mounted the kerb and hit them in the popular tourist destination.
Helen, an insurance broker at Worcestershire firm Hazelton Mountford, has 10 head injuries which have required stitching, a fractured pubic bone, and a split lip showing signs of infection.
Nell’s injuries include a broken collarbone, fractures to her vertebrae and at the base of her spine and a large open wound on her back which has not been properly sealed.
Ella, 27, and her boyfriend, who live in neighbouring Serbia, are among friends and family who are rallying around a GoFundMe appeal to bring the pair home.
“We’ve struggled to get answers about their injuries, we don’t even know if my mum has had a CT scan for possible brain injuries,” she said.
Helen Barratt sustained 10 different head injuries (Image: Nina Tribe/GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-helen-and-nell-with-costs-while-in-montenegro)
“She’s got grazes and cuts all over her body and a possible fracture to her foot which the doctors haven’t looked at at all.
“We’re worried their injuries could be worse and have permanent consequences.
“It’s been horrific to witness and we just feel helpless.
“We started the appeal to get them home and it would just be so nice to have some help and support.
“At the moment, it’s just me, my boyfriend and my sister’s 19-year-old boyfriend, we’re three young people having to navigate a foreign hospital system and a legal battle.”
Nell Barratt suffered serious injuries in the collision with a car (Image: Nina Tribe/GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-helen-and-nell-with-costs-while-in-montenegro)
The family had been staying at a rented apartment in Budva after making the journey from their homes in the UK and Serbia for the reunion.
Helen and Nell had only landed three hours before the collision on April 13, which took place as they walked on a footpath beside a busy road.
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“My sister’s boyfriend said the car mounted the kerb as if to park but just kept on going,” Ella said.
“The driver stopped and the police took witness statements from him and the other people who were there.”
Helen Barratt suffered horrific injuries after being hit by a car (Image: Ella Barratt/GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-helen-and-nell-with-costs-while-in-montenegro)
Helen and Nell have global health insurance, but this doesn’t cover a medical repatriation and, unknown to them at the time, their travel insurance had expired.
“Since they’ve been in hospital it’s taken a lot of effort to even get basic things like CT scans done,” Ella said.
“My mum and sister have severe, documented life-changing injuries and I am watching them suffer while having to fight for their basic care.”
Ella Barratt (front, left) is standing by her young sister Nell (Image: Ella Barratt/GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-helen-and-nell-with-costs-while-in-montenegro)
The GoFundMe page has currently raised more than £6,000 to support Helen and Nell’s medical repatriation back to the UK, ongoing medical costs and supplies, food and accommodation for those caring for them and legal costs.
Worcester News has approached the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for comment.
To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/helping-helen-and-nell-with-costs-while-in-montenegro.