Jockey retains sense of humour after being kicked in the face by horse then getting run over by ambulance
Irony not lost on Irish racing ace Chris Meehan - whose family are all ambulance drivers - after accident in Merano, Italy
A YOUNG jockey has seen the funny side after being kicked in the face by his horse – and then run over by the racecourse ambulance.
Chris Meehan was nearing the end of a summer stint in Italy when he was unseated and then kicked in the face as he fell to the ground.
The accident – which happened at a race in Merano – knocked Meehan out cold.
He was also left with a broken nose and a huge gash on his jaw that needed 27 stitches.
But the unlucky racing ace ended up with a broken leg to add to the list after being run over by the racecourse ambulance as it arrived to help him.
Meehan described how people rushed to his aid as he lay on his back choking on his own blood.
He said they put him in the recovery position with his right leg outstretched – only for the ambulance to reverse over it.
He told the : “They stopped it on top of my leg so I started screaming – it broke it straight away.
“Everyone around me had to push it off me.
“You have to laugh really.”
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And to add an extra sense of irony to what will have been a terrible day for the jockey, several of his immediate family drive ambulances.
He said: “What makes it worse is my father, brother, auntie, they're all ambulance people!
“My father actually teaches most people in Northern Ireland and England how to drive the ambulance!
“It's bizarre, you couldn't make it up.”
Meehan faces at least two months on the sidelines as he recovers from his injuries.
He is set to return home to Ireland today for surgery on his leg and face.
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