Alton Towers crash victim Leah Washington, 17, shares first photo after losing leg

 
Leah Washington, 17, has shared this picture with friends and family (Picture: Leah Washington/Facebook)
Leah Washington/Facebook
Tom Marshall4 July 2015

A brave teenage victim of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash has been pictured for the first time since losing her leg.

Leah Washington, 17, shared the image of herself surrounded by family and friends on her Facebook page.

She smiles and stands arm in arm with supporters in the photo, taken just weeks after the limb was amputated.

The teenager, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, underwent an operation to remove most of her left leg days after the horrendous crash in early June.

She was on her first date with 18-year-old Joe Pugh when their carriage on the Smiler ride crashed into one in front. She also suffered a fractured left hand.

Dancer Vicky Balch, 20, from Lancashire, also lost a leg in the accident. She had her right leg amputated below the knee last weekend.

Injuries: Victoria Balch spent her 20th birthday in hospital (Picture: Facebook)
Facebook

Miss Balch, who had a four-and-a-half hour wait for rescue, previously told the BBC: "It felt like slow motion. We banged into the car in front. I felt the bars go into my knees; we moved backwards and the car went into us again.

"I passed out. I was awoken by Dan shouting my name. Everyone was screaming and I was in excruciating pain. I looked down and I could see blood all over."

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