Man, 26, killed by falling tree moments after ringing ambulance for woman along canal
14.10.2022 - 09:31
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man who was left badly injured after a tree fell on him and killed his friend has spoken of the moments before the horrific accident.
Sam Smart was with his long-time friend Darnell Cordingley, 26, when the pair were tragically hit by a falling tree in Sale. Darnell, of Altrincham, lost his life while Sam was left with serious injuries, including multiple broken bones and a fractured vertebrae, and has been in hospital ever since.
From his hospital bed, Sam paid tribute to his friend, whom he met in school and became firm friends with after a school trip to the Lake District.
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He told the Manchester Evening News : "Darnell was goofy, random, funny, and will always be my closest friend. Whenever he was grumpy I liked to call him Grumpy Grandad because he’d look like a grandad. We loved making videos together as kids, it was fun to edit them and look back at them as we got older. All of us had a love of silly film making and look forward to seeing them all again soon.
"I’m still processing that Darnell is gone, there was a moment in the hospital where I thought that I needed to tell him how I was and what happened but would remember that he’s no longer here. This will take me a long time to process and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. He was like my brother, my best friend. Hannah and I keep saying that he will still be the best man at our wedding when we decide to tie the knot in the future."
Sam and Darnell met on a trip to the Lake District in Year 9, with the pair messing about on a bike ride together and becoming firm friends ever since. Last Thursday, October 9, Sam went