'Drunk driver broke my spine and nearly killed me - the worst thing was what he did in court'

A young mum left with devastating injuries after a drink driver ploughed head-on into her car has slammed his jail sentence - branding it "an insult" after he tried to blame her for the crash.

Sophie Oxley, 29, was out Christmas shopping on November 12, 2023, when she crossed paths with Terry Colley, 46, on the A22 in East Sussex. Moments later, herlife changed forever.

“I was just going to get a coffee,” she recalls. “The drive was completely normal - I had music playing. And then I saw a car coming straight at me. All I thought was, 'I’m going to die'. There was nothing I could do.” Colley, 46, who had 144mg of alcohol in his blood when thelegal limit is 80mg, smashed into Sophie’s BMW at "well over the 50mph speed limit".

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“I put my arms in front of my face and thought, 'this is it'. I just thought of my partner and our son, who were both at home at the time.”

Her car was crushed in the impact. Members of the public who witnessed the horror crash just past a BP garage rushed to help, but Sophie was trapped.

Moments later, Colley’s car burst into flames. Emergency crews scrambled to the scene and Sophie was rushed to Royal Sussex County Hospital, where she was put into an induced coma.

Doctors found both her lungs had collapsed, her spleen had burst, and she’d suffered a long list of broken bones - including her spine, femur, ankle, elbow and thumb.

“I was in the coma for six days. Three days in, doctors told my partner and mum that they didn’t think I’d survive,” she says.

But she did survive and spent weeks in hospital, undergoing emergency surgeries and fighting through near-constant pain.

“I was finally discharged on December 30. But I was back in hospital again days later with collapsed lungs, then a bowel obstruction, then another surgery,” she says. “It’s never really ended.”

Sophie now has to take antibiotics twice a day for life due to losing her spleen, and faces the possibility of needing a stoma bag if her complications continue.

Despite the mountain of evidence, Colley claimed Sophie was on the wrong side of the road.

“I nearly died. But he still tried to blame me,” she says. “There were witnesses, CCTV, everything. And yet he looked me in the face during the trial and showed no remorse. Not a word of apology.”

In April 2025, Colley was sentenced to four years in jail and a six-year driving ban. He was also jailed for two months, to be served consecutively, for a separate offence after he admitted breaching a non-molestation order this time last year.

Sophie says the sentence feels like a slap in the face. “Four years - and he won’t even serve the full term. Meanwhile I’ve been given a life sentence. My body is permanently changed. My mental health is in pieces. I have PTSD, I get anxiety just sitting in a car, I can’t sleep.”

Before the crash, Sophie was an active runner and gym-goer, regularly doing half marathons. Now, she struggles to walk long distances, and has lost sensation in her thigh due to nerve damage.

“I’ve had multiple surgeries to remove the metalwork from my body - but the elbow metal can’t come out. It’s embedded in the bone. I don’t even have the strength to lift properly anymore.”

Her career as a Claims Assessor remains intact, but her family life has changed dramatically. Her partner had to quit his job to care for her and their two-year-old son. Since then, they’ve welcomed a daughter - born five weeks early due to Sophie’s ongoing pain and complications.

“I’ve been told I can’t have any more children. I’m 29. I had no problems with my first pregnancy and now this. It’s heartbreaking.”

Now, Sophie is channelling her energy into raising awareness and fighting for justice. She’s launched a petition calling for longer sentences for drink and drug drivers, and lifetime bans for those who cause serious harm.

“The system isn’t fair. He’ll walk free, but I’ll never be free. I want people to realise - this could be your mum, your partner, your child. One stupid decision behind the wheel can destroy someone’s entire life.”

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