Christine opens up about the collision that killed her sister, Mena, and the support she received from Brake
Almena, known to her loved ones as Mena, was 16 years older than her sister, Christine. But despite the age gap, the two shared a closeness, with Mena being a rock for her sibling through life’s ups and downs and some difficult times. On 16 October 2023, Christine was in central Manchester having lunch with a friend. She heard about a serious incident that had happened nearby affecting traffic and messaged Mena, who had also been in town that morning, to warn her to take a different route home.
What Christine didn’t know was that Mena was involved in the incident. As Christine tried to navigate her way out of the chaos, her sister lay in the road just a street away.
Mena had been crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing, just in front of a bus stop. As a bus driver pulled away from the stop, he confused the accelerator and brake pedals and lost control of the bus. He ran into Mena and several other pedestrians before crashing into a shop. Eleven other people were injured that day, and Mena was taken to Salford Royal Hospital.
As Christine travelled home, she tried to get in touch with Mena. After some time, a police officer answered Mena’s phone and broke the news to Christine. She rushed to Mena’s bedside.
A scan revealed that Mena had suffered a traumatic brain injury and would not survive, so Christine made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw life support. She held Mena’s hand as she died.
In the aftermath of the crash, Christine felt a great deal of anger and was faced with a long and confusing investigation and judicial process. At the same time, she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer and grieving the sudden death of her brother in 2022, just 10 months before Mena was killed.
Christine was struggling to process everything that was happening, so she decided to reach out to Brake.
“I knew I needed support, but I didn’t know exactly what I needed,” Christine recalls. “So, I phoned Brake, and said ‘This is what’s happened’, and they put me in touch with my caseworker Paul.
“Paul was brilliant. He didn’t put me and my experiences into boxes but saw me as a whole person. He was very human in how he talked to me and made me feel comfortable and at ease. He really built up my trust.”
Paul helped Christine with lots of things she had to deal with after Mena’s death. He gave her advice about employment and finances and explained what would happen during the legal case.
The bus driver had initially claimed the bus was faulty, but this was later disproved. He eventually pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was given a two-year suspended sentence. Christine was able to navigate the difficult experience and reliving the trauma with Paul’s support.
“It took a massive weight off me because I didn’t understand it,” Christine says. “I felt like I could talk to Paul about the wider impact of what was happening – the impact it had on my family and the impact it had on me, and all the practicalities. I felt as though he really cared about what I was going through.”
My caseworker Paul was brilliant. He didn’t put me and my experiences into boxes but saw me as a whole person. It took a massive weight off me.
Two years on from the crash, Mena’s family continues to celebrate her life with positivity and love, determined to live as fully as possible. Although Christine acknowledges that her grief is ongoing, she credits Brake – and her caseworker Paul in particular – with empowering her to move forward.
To anyone who has been impacted by a road crash, Christine’s message is simple: to reach out to Brake, even if you don’t know what support you might need.
“Even if you don’t feel like approaching Brake straight off, give yourself time to decide what you want and how you want things to go. I am really pleased I did – I would have struggled an awful lot without Paul.”