‘Miracle I’m alive’: young farmer survives horror tractor crash

A young farmer says he is lucky to be alive after a terrifying crash between his tractor-trailer and a lorry on the A419 in Wiltshire.

Spencer Saveall was flung through the rear window of his red Massey Ferguson 6480 tractor cab following the collision, which happened shortly before 3pm on Saturday (5 December) between Cricklade and Blunsdon on the southbound stretch of the dual carriageway.

The 22-year-old, from Blunsdon, Swindon, suffered a badly bruised and grazed neck and a cut to his finger. His injuries were not serious or life-threatening.

See also: Tractors on the road: Rights, wrongs, rules and regulations

An air ambulance was called to the scene, but the farmer was taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon by land ambulance for treatment and was later released. The driver of the HGV, a woman in her 30s, was taken to the same hospital and treated for minor injuries. The road was closed for three hours.

‘Miracle I survived’

“It’s a bloody miracle I survived. There must be an angel somewhere up there, looking down kindly on me,” Mr Saveall told Farmers Weekly.

“I do not remember driving up Blunsdon Hill. All I remember is looking at the back wheels of the tractor and the broken halfshaft and there was oil p*ssing out everywhere.

“The tractor engine was still revving and I vaguely remember standing up a bit shell-shocked and stumbling around the tractor to get back in it and switch it off. It’s a bit of a blur.”

Mr Saveall said his Massey tractor was not equipped with a seat belt. The rear window of the tractor cab had been on a latch when he was ejected through it and the glass smashed upon impact.

He believes that he may have landed on the drawbar of the trailer which continued to move forward several feet following the collision. “If I had landed under the wheels of the trailer, I may not have come out of this alive,” he added.

Mr Saveall’s huntaway dog was with him in the tractor and was not thrown from the cab. The dog also survived the crash without suffering serious injury.

Tractor written off

The Massey tractor was reduced to a mangled wreckage and was written off. The impact was so severe its axle broke.

When asked whether he had learned anything from this near-miss, Mr Saveall said: “The more flashing lights on a tractor, the better. I only had one flashing beacon on the tractor and a rear flasher on the trailer.”

Liz Webster, farmer’s wife and founder of campaign group Save British Farming, said Mr Saveall has been working on her husband’s farm in north Wiltshire since he was 17.

“He’s a good lad. He’s really shaken by what has happened and is off work recovering at the moment,” said Mrs Webster. “He said he was driving along the dual carriageway to the top of Blunsdon Hill and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the road and a woman was asking him if he was OK?

“The ambulance arrived and they had to cut all his clothes off to treat him. He said it was just extraordinary. He was very, very lucky. A farmer was killed in a crash on this same stretch of road a few years back.”

Previous crash

Mr Saveall said he survived a serious tractor road crash about five years ago along the northbound stretch of the A419. On that occasion, his tractor ended up in a ditch and was written off following a collision with a car, which moved out and swerved in front of him. 

More must be done to create awareness among motorists of tractors on our roads, Mrs Webster said. “People do not realise how slowly tractors go. Something needs to be done to educate the public.”

Mrs Webster also urged Highways England to review safety along the A419, especially in areas where side junctions meet the carriageway.

Wiltshire Police confirmed that no one was seriously injured in the collision and police enquiries were ongoing. Any witnesses are urged to call 101.