A smiling couple from Alton Towers get married at a beautiful boutique hotel

A couple caught up in the Alton Towers Smiler crash have married.

The happy day came nearly nine years after the horror rollercoaster crash. Bride Leah Washington, now 26, was just 17 when the rollercoaster crashed into another carriage. His leg was amputated. Vicky Balch, who was in the seat next to her in the front, lost her right leg.

Leah and groom Joe Pugh were on their first date at the theme park when they were caught up in the chaos.

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The couple announced their engagement last year. Leah, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, stunned in a smart white dress, while husband Joe went for a James Bond look with a tuxedo and bow tie.

Leah and Joe enjoyed a drinks reception with family and friends at the Woodlands Hotel in Leeds, with a pianist playing live music. About 16 people were trapped when the Smiler crashed into a stationary test carriage on 2 June 2015, three years after the line’s inauguration.

The horrifying incident led to Alton Towers’ owners, Merlin Entertainment, being prosecuted and fined £5 million. Both Leah and Ms. Balch separately sued the company in 2018 for negligence.

Meera Chauhan and daughter Vanisha Singh, who were also injured in the 2015 accident, filed complaints citing ongoing psychological effects. The theme park was labeled a “disappointment” by Judge Michael Chambers in 2016 as he fined Merlin £5m.

Recalling the crash at the time as ‘the longest thirty minutes of my life’, Leah said: ‘My legs were trapped between the roll bar and the front passenger, terrified and in excruciating pain, I was rapidly losing feeling in my left leg . .”

Leah said she asked Joe for the phone to call her mom and he said he couldn’t “because my finger is hanging off.”

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