Skins star Kathryn Prescott is in the ICU after being hit by a cement truck
Her twin sister and fellow Skins star Megan Prescott shared an Instagram post detailing Kathryn's condition
TV News Kathryn Prescott
Kathryn Prescott, best known for playing fan-favorite Emily Fitch in the show Skins, has been hospitalized with severe injuries after being hit by a cement truck in New York City. Her twin sister Megan Prescott, who also starred in Skins, shared the news in an Instagram post.
“I received the most terrifying phone call I’ve ever received in my life on Tuesday evening. My twin sister Kathryn was hit by a cement truck while crossing a road in New York on the 7th September,” wrote Megan. “After fighting through complex surgery some of Kathryn’s injuries include: broken pelvis in two places, both of her legs, her foot and her left hand. She’s incredibly lucky to be alive. She narrowly avoided paralysis. The doctors are hopeful that she will make a full recovery but this will only be possible with the correct care right now.”
She added that Prescott has been in New York City alone without family members, and so she’s attempting to travel and stay in in the U.S. while her sister recovers. However, due to pandemic restrictions, only U.S. citizens can travel to the U.S. from the U.K.
“I applied to the U.S. Embassy for exemption from the current restrictions banning any non-U.S. citizens into the U.S. and was denied earlier today and I am devastated. I am double-vaccinated, I had a PCR test yesterday and can fly at the drop of a hat,” Megan explained. “I have documents from the hospital confirming the extent of Kathryn’s injuries and am willing to do anything to get to her as soon as humanly possible. If anyone knows of ANY way I can appeal to the U.S. Embassy’s decision to reject my application for exemption from the travel ban please, please reach out.”
She also posted on her Instagram story that though she’s thankful that people have suggested she travel to another country and then fly into the U.S from there in order to circumvent the travel restriction, she’s not interested in having to quarantine for two weeks outside of the U.S. because “[Prescott] is in the fucking ICU. I need to go NOW.”
49 Comments
I fully get that this is an excruciatingly tough situation, but Megan’s comments just reek of rich and famous privilege. Yes, it’s definitely tough for ANYONE who can’t be in the hospital with sick/hurt family members right now, but the restrictions are to keep EVERYONE safe! Imagine how terrible Megan will feel if she picks up Covid on the plane over and transmits it to Kathryn in her sensitive state.She needs to just focus on the electronic connections she can make in the hospital to her sister and stop acting like she very special and needs the entire US government to drop everything and let her prance around the country with no restrictions and no quarantine.
That’s awful. I hope there’s a full recovery and her sister and any other family who need to go can make it there as soon as possible.
As a lifetime city dweller myself, who navigates heavy street traffic as a pedestrian on a basically daily basis, I am curious to know how this happened. The thing about cement trucks, in real life (as opposed to movies, where heavy vehicles have been known to suddenly glide in from offscreen for a shocking death), is that you can hear them coming from three blocks away. Maybe it ran a red light, or swerved into her?Anyways, relieved to hear that she’s expected to recover, that is a horrifying thing to have happen to you. And given the general state of the U.S.’s COVID policies, it is inexplicable that they aren’t letting her sister visit.
As a city dweller too, I fear greatly for pedestrians, who I often see completely oblivious to what is going on…earbuds in ears, or gaze down toward phone. Had I not been looking out as a driver, there are easily a half dozen times where I would’ve hit someone, because they crossed against the light, or were otherwise oblivious to traffic. I also witnessed a pedestrian very nearly get hit when she walked into traffic while looking at her phone, and her companion physically grabbed her and jerked her out of the way. Which isn’t to blame the victim, because the pedestrian has the right of way, and drivers have to be vigilant, but when a car meets a pedestrian, the car will win every single time, so the pedestrian has to look out as well. They’re the ones who stand to lose.
That’s true and it is why I don’t listen to music while walking the dog – already too many things to pay attention to. But there’s plenty of blame to go around. As a frequent pedestrian I see plenty of drivers looking at their phones or barely slowing down for stop signs, right turns on red, or when entering/exiting parking garages and driveways.Trucks are less of a problem than passenger cars. People with CDL’s tend to be better, more cautious, more aware, drivers than people without.
I’m also a runner, and run daily through the city, and I know exactly what you mean. I’ve learned that at intersections if there is a car, I make eye contact, make sure they see me before I cross, and if there is any doubt, I will go around and behind them. The worst drivers by far are ones making right hand turns, because they ONLY look to their left, never to their right. I always am cautious when I’m approaching someone turning right.
The worst drivers by far are ones making right hand turns, because they
ONLY look to their left, never to their right. I always am cautious
when I’m approaching someone turning right.
Same here. This is incredibly dangerous for drivers to do.
Yep. Drivers always seem to think their ability to make right turns on reds supersedes the whole “pedestrians have absolute right of way on crosswalks” thing.
Yesterday, I almost got by a white van making a right turn. I had the walk sign and when I looked to my left that van had left blinker on to turn left. Driver changed his mind, turned right, right in front of me since I am still careful on the crosswalk. Didn’t even bother to honk.
I know I’m at my most dangerous as a driver when I am lost / struggling to figure out navigation in an unfamiliar area. Even if you’re not actively distracted looking at a map or something, it just consumes mental bandwidth to scan the street signs, second guess “wait, was my turn a block ago? How will I make a u-turn? Can I make a U-turn at this intersection? Do I turn right and make another two rights back onto the street in the other direction? but wait the street a block south is a one way street going the other way, so does that mean I turn left instead? Oh shit, the light’s green and the guy behind me is honking. Oh shit, a pedestrian is under my tire”.
The worst drivers by far are ones making right hand turns, because they ONLY look to their left, never to their right. I always am cautious when I’m approaching someone turning right.As a European living in the US it took me a long time to internalize that it’s legal for cars to make right turns at red lights. It’s something that I’m just not at all used to, my traffic brain is very wired to think that a red light means the driver will definitely, positively stop, no exceptions.That and learning that a parked car with lights off may in fact have the engine running and be about to start moving where my two big gotchas after moving. Someone from the UK also has to deal with traffic driving on the wrong side.This is not to absolve pedestrians of responsibility, of course you have to know these things and pay attention. Just saying that navigating traffic in a foreign country is more challenging, since your years of instincts might suddenly be wrong.
I was just about to step off the curb once when a right-turner-on-red darted in front of me, and we had one of those time stopping moments wherein we locked eyes and I glared furiously at the driver and she did this little shocked double take as if she was surprised I could even possibly be there.
I was hit by a car by a guy who didn’t look right before turning on a red light. Knocked me off my bike onto the street. A brake handle broke off and my front wheel was bent. He said he would pay for my bike repairs and drove me home. Gave me a fake phone number. I should have taken down his license plate. I haven’t ridden my bike regularly since.
And many drivers think that the general legality of “turning right on red” (a terrible, terrible law) gives them the right of way to do so over pedestrians crossing. I’ve been honked at many times, and even hit once (fortunately minorly) in crosswalks with a walk sign by drivers turning right that were of the opinion I was supposed to wait until they turned (which of course would involve losing the walk light).
It’s the perpetual struggle of pedestrians and drivers and heck throw cyclists in there, too. Each group hates the other two and believes they are dangerously oblivious and lack basic situational awareness. And they are all correct.
Since you brought up cyclists, they do sit perfectly in the pecking order since they are always complaining that cars don’t respect them…while barreling along combination bike/walking paths at 30kph or blowing through stop signs and lights at crosswalks like those things don’t apply to them.
Which isn’t to blame the victim, because the pedestrian has the right of way, and drivers have to be vigilant
But pedestrians don’t always have the right of way. I’m not saying that someone crossing against the light deserves to be hit, but pedestrians need to take responsibility, just like drivers and cyclists do. Put down the phone when crossing the street (part of me can’t believe this actually needs to be said). Keep your head moving & looking around, especially if you’re wearing headphones (which I do).
Now, I’m a pedestrian, I walk to & from work as long as it’s not raining, and the number of bad drivers on the road is something that really needs to change. Rolling instead of stopping at stop signs, turning/changing lanes without signalling, running yellow lights, not looking for people crossing before turning, etc.
It’s amazing to see how many pedestrians walk into oncoming traffic without even looking, and some aren’t even distracted by cellphones. Also, there’s the people with baby strollers who are waiting on the corner at the edge of the sidewalk for the light to change, and the stroller is in the fucking street. Great going guys!
And don’t even get me started on those goddamn scooters. I looked out my living room window one night, which overlooks the street in downtown where I live. I saw three people on scooters riding across all lanes of traffic, going the WRONG WAY down a one way street, run a red light, and make a left turn up ANOTHER one way street going the wrong direction. At night. Utter imbeciles. What do thing think will happen when they encounter a car? How will that play out?
There’s too many cavalier bicyclists, putting it politely.
The electric scooter people are, at least locally where I live, predominantly drunks who’ve had their license to drive a motor vehicle revoked.
I live in a 25mph speed limited road without sidewalks, and the amount of people flying down the road is infuriating. I can’t take a walk without having to be on my guard. A lot of it stems from the the neighborhood being close to a large company’s distribution warehouse, so employees come down to rush to work. I had to change my son’s bus stop to my house because I was afraid for his safety. That kind of stress must be amplified in a city setting. I hope she can make a good, speedy recovery, and that she can see her mother soon.
She’s from England, yes? I’d guess she looked the wrong way as she stepped off the curb.
That very well may be the case. I once was walking in London, looked the wrong way. If it hadn’t been for a stranger who pulled me back, I would have been hit by a car.
Having visited the UK – twice – I can say this is a real thing. I got to looking both ways several times – and then again – because at first I didn’t realize we are habituated into looking the way we are used to seeing oncoming traffic come from and by the time we’ve looked in the other direction things may have changed. My cousin was hit by a bus in London and broke her leg while she was living there – same reason. Looked the wrong way first.
Maybe this is a promotional tie-in stunt for Airpods Pro 2, now with Diesel™ Active Noise Cancellation. Available for pre-order starting Friday, September 16.
Being British it’s possible that she looked ‘right then left’ in a moment of rote memory.A Scottish student at UNC died by getting hit by a bus when she unfortunately made that same mistake.
I lived in the city for a little while and tbh if I was listening to music on headphones or even if I was just engrossed on my phone I’d be kind of oblivious to sounds. I was a little tipsy once with friends and almost got hit by a truck so it happens. And those were all my fault, I’m sure she could’ve been doing everything correctly and the cement mixer didn’t realize someone was behind him when backing up or just didn’t see her. Plus she’s not a US native so she might still not be totally comfortable with traffic patterns. It def happens.
There could be innumerable situations that lead to a person getting hit by a truck. She and the truck driver found themselves in one of them. Anytime a person crosses a street – regardless whether they are at a crosswalk and following the light – they’re at risk of being hit by a truck.It’s kind of funny how people here are all like, “I don’t want to blame her for getting hit by a truck, but here are a bunch of hypothetical behaviors that would have made it her fault.”
In a website full of pointless commentary, this might just take the cake as the most useless comment I’ve ever seen.
I dunno, the original post here was wondering how a person gets hit by a truck. The only answer is that they stepped into a street. Everything else is coincidence.
I expect it’s because she forgot that in the US they drive on the wrong side of the street. There are signs at Heathrow that tell foreigners to look the OTHER way as so many were clipped by cabs crossing the street. It might be some other distraction, but even those visiting in the US for some time can fade back to what they grew up with.
She needs a lawyer, preferably one in the US.
She should get Benedict Morelli, Tracy Morgan’s lawyer who got him the settlement money to cover extensive surgery after a Walmart truck hit the vehicle he was in.
Damn. And ouch.
I have a car but I walk every day in the city. Drivers never look both ways when turning. I don’t care who has the right of way– pedestrians need to be protected. We need far harsher penalties for vehicles that hit people. If you kill a person, even accidentally, it needs to be 10 – 20 years in prison. If a DUI, needs to be LIFE.
Honestly I’d be happy if NYC would just occasionally take drivers licenses away from people who run over children, but as a rule unless you fail a breathalyzer test on the scene, you won’t even be at serious risk of that happening to you.
Agreed. An accident shouldn’t be a life sentence. Hitting and killing someone because you were tired or distracted shouldn’t be equated with mass murder or terrorism.
The impetus should be the responsibility of driving. You should not be tired, distracted, under the influence, impaired in any way that would affect how you drive. Choosing to get behind the wheel when you’re in no condition to, especially while under the influence, is irresponsible and abhorrent. I don’t like how we tend to only punish intent, something difficult to prove. If there’s something you know you shouldn’t be doing and it causes someone to die, it should be murder.
Sure, but we send people to jail for plenty of crimes that aren’t mass murder or terrorism. Regular old negligent homicide is still totally a thing, unless you do it while driving in which it’s it’s pardon me sir, I guess you were in a hurry to go home.But whatever, that ship has sailed, and I’m certainly an easy sell on the idea that there’s no upside to throwing otherwise law abiding humans into the maw of what we laughably call our criminal justice system just because they turned out to be incapable of safely wielding a 3-ton murder machine that we gave them an explicit license for. But maybe we could start by taking that license away once they’ve splattered someone’s kid?
10 – 20 years for an accident seems a bit extreme.
You’d have to pass a 28th amendment to change the 8th barring cruel and unusual punishment.
Tbh, while I agree that drivers should obviously be more aware of pedestrians, the problem isn’t just them, but also the infrastructure of the city that prioritizes cars over pedestrians and cyclists at every occasion. The way the city is built should have a more layered approach to who is using what.Yes, cars should be the priority vehicles on highways and large roads, but on the streets in city centres the priority should be on cyclists and pedestrians. By designing the streets primarily for their useage and safety, car traffic will automatically slow down (smaller, complex streets with more sidewalks, less signs and more speedbumps and zebra crossings demand drivers to pay attention and not accelerate). Every time a pedestrian or cyclist is seriously injured in a collision, there should be an investigation on what makes the street unsafe and actions should be taken to make the street itself safer.
This isn’t to take away the blame from jackasses who clearly need to stop texting during driving, they should be punished. It’s just that the city needs to change alongside it as well.
The 10-20 years for an accident is ridiculous. There’s no benefit to society in locking someone up for that period of time and this type of “punish people as harshly as possible for everything” attitude is why things like private prisons are allowed to exist.There’s zero reason why this should be treated any differently than any other form of manslaughter.
You ever driven a giant rig where the grill stands taller than most people? Sometimes all you have to go on are traffic signals and signs when there’s no way to see what’s directly in front of you, just a few feet away. It’s not like driving around in your Honda or even one of those crossover sports SUV’s.We don’t know the circumstances so noone should be casting blame until there’s a full investigation. That said, pedestrians do need to be aware of their surroundings, especially in NYC, which is basically a giant ant form.
Her not being allowed in because of Covid restrictions can’t be true: Tucker Carlson has assured me that Biden has instituted open borders, and the main reason the pandemic is still raging is because we’re letting in thousands of unvaccinated illegal immigrants. Seriously though, that sucks. I recently had to arrange for a woman in the UK to send a gift to her best friend, who was getting married at the hotel where I work. This woman was in tears about the fact that she was going to miss the wedding, and felt like nothing she could do would ever make up for that fact. I can’t imagine how much worse it would be when it’s not a wedding, but a life-threatening emergency, and not a best friend but a twin sister.
As a non-driving pedestrian, I am super-careful at every intersection, and I still have been nearly run over a few times. Some of these big trucks moving through the city seem unable to see the little people in front of them. I hope Prescott recovers well, and I also hope that her sister is allowed to come and be with her. Come on, State Department!
Best wishes to her and a speedy recovery.
____
Being hit by a cement truck