Sheffield trams: 'Injuries from bike crash on tram tracks which could have killed me left me disabled'
It was just supposed to be a work day like any other when Sheffield welder Jason Twibell left his house on his bike at 6.15am.
He now has no memory of that day - but wife Alison will never forget the phone call she received from South Yorkshire Police two hours after he’d left Oughtibridge.
She thought it was strange, because he should have been at his job at Eclipse Magnetics, near Brightside.
She said: “It was a police officer who said he had had an accident on the Middlewood Road, Hillsborough tram track route and he was at the hospital. She told me there was nothing to worry about and it wasn’t serious.
“Later that morning, I received a call from a consultant at the hospital asking where I was and that I needed to come to the hospital as Jason had a bleed on the brain and other substantial injuries - I immediately went.”
Jason’s wheel had got stuck in the tram tracks, near the JCT 600 car showroom, sending him flying over the top of his handlebars. He believes his cycling helmet saved his life. It was broken by the impact.
The 54-year-old dad of two teenage boys feels he was lucky, in that three nurses who were behind him in traffic rushed to his aid, helping him before the ambulance arrived. Some runners also stopped to assist, and he would love to meet them to thank them. But he says he only knows what happened through ambulance reports.
Taken to hospital, he was found to have a life threatening bleed on the brain, as well as a fractured eye socket, fractured cheek bone, broken collar bone, five broken ribs, and an enlarged aorta in his heart.
After two days in the Northern General, he was moved to the Hallamshire Hospital neuro ward for 11 days, during which Alison says he collapsed once and had two seizures.
The couple say the incident, in January 2024, changed their lives, and Jason is now registered disabled.
Jason says he has been left with brain injuries. He said: “Personally, I feel I died on that road. In reality a lot of me has.”
A once social man, he says he now rarely ventures from the house. He has problems with balance and struggles with sleep.
Alison, 52, said: “Since Jason has been at home, he has been a different man. The man I married is no longer. He isn’t able to work, he doesn’t go out like he used to before the accident, he suffers from anxiety, and chronic fatigue.
“Jason was very involved in his children and their football journeys, and this has taken a back step. Jason isn’t able to work, he isn’t fit to work and he lost his job as a welder as a result of this.
“Jason has had so many hospital appointments over the last two years which he is still having due to ongoing complications. He is under the long-term brain injury rehabilitation team where he visits each month for ongoing rehabilitation and support. We’ve had no income since, and the strain is immense this is now put upon our family unit.”
They are taking legal advice.
Jason is urging other cyclists to be careful around tram tracks, and does not want anyone else to have the same injuries as he suffered.
Cycle Sheffield keep records of the number of cyclists who have been injured on the tram tracks, which is thought to be over 800.
Jason, and his solicitor, Garry Dickinson, from law firm Watkins and Gunn, want more to be done to avoid any similar incidents.
Jason would like rubber coverings over the tracks which keep cyclists wheel out of the tracks but allow heavy tram wheels to fit into them. He understands such systems are used in some European cities.
However, it is understood rubber infills as are not suitable for the type of track used on the Supertram network.
Mr Dickinson added: “Sheffield is one of the few places where cyclists, I believe, share live tram tracks with other traffic. There doesn’t seem to be any adequate warnings or protection.
“The consequence for Mr Twibell has been catastrophic. It really raises questions about why known risks are allowed to persist and whether public safety was given the priority, I believe it deserved.”
It is not the first high profile incident involving cycling injuries.
In 2022, The Star reported how keen dancer Stephanie Wall suffered a ruptured knee ligament when she suffered a fall on tram tracks.turning from West Street onto Glossop Road.
She and partner Jamie Irvine, a roads engineer, told The Star at the time no one in authority was prepared to take any details of what happened, leaving them worried lessons were not being learned from hundreds of accidents which have happened on the tracks over the years.
Police later said where a single cyclist suffers an accident that results in an injury then the accident should be reported by attending a police station.
It should not be reported by calling 101 as it is not a crime and is therefore not a police matter, but the data is collated for statistics which can be used to make roads safer.
Stagecoach, which operated the trams at the time of Jason’s injuries in January 2024, said it was not responsible for the infrastructure on the network.
A spokesman for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), which runs the trams now, said: “A safe, reliable and accessible Supertram network is integral to achieving our mission to create a world-class, integrated transport network for everyone across South Yorkshire.
“Our thoughts are with Mr Twibell following this incident. We take the safety of all road users extremely seriously and continue to monitor the tram network to identify and mitigate highway safety issues - working with Sheffield City Council, who along with their PFI contract partner Amey, are responsible for overall safety on the highway.
“Across the network there is extensive signage in place to warn cyclists and motorists about potential risks, particularly at crossing points. We also encourage road users to take extra care where trams run along the road, in line with the Highway Code.
“SYMCA continues to work closely with local authorities to improve cycling conditions across South Yorkshire via cycle paths, crossings and cycle hubs, and to provide free cycle training.”
Sheffield Council has been approached for comment.