A Welsh teenager has spoken out about the profound distress she endured after arriving at her father’s serious accident, only to find bystanders capturing the scene on their phones and uploading footage to social media—before her own family had even been informed of what had happened. Eve Thomas, 17 at the time, recalls vividly the day her world changed as she confronted both her father’s life-threatening injuries and the deeply troubling behaviour of onlookers more focused on sharing content online than offering help.
Eve, a resident of Hirwaun in Rhondda Cynon Taf, says the experience left her traumatised, compounding the shock with a sense of violation. “I was on my way home from school when the bus suddenly stopped due to an accident up ahead,” she recounted. Peering out, she spotted a familiar motorbike at the scene—her father’s, easily identifiable by stickers she herself had applied. Despite being gripped by denial, Eve immediately knew the truth.
However, what happened next added a layer of hurt to an already harrowing day. Students on her bus began filming the accident, focusing their cameras on the aftermath while families of those involved remained unaware. “It was wrong,” Eve states plainly, reflecting the growing unease many feel about the prevalence of smartphones during times of crisis.
Once home, Eve’s worst fears were confirmed: her father, Nigel Thomas, had indeed been the victim of the collision. On a routine journey home from work, he had been struck by a car, resulting in catastrophic injuries. Doctors placed him in an induced coma, and he spent the following nine months in hospital. For Eve and her family, the uncertainty and anguish were compounded by the knowledge that videos of the incident, alongside rampant speculation about Nigel’s fate, were circulating online.
The impact extended well beyond immediate relatives. Eve learned that her godmother had called the family in distress, having seen dramatic reports online that, absent reliable official information, leapt to grim conclusions about Nigel’s chances of survival. “It just didn’t feel real at the time, and the public sharing—the way it all spread—compounded my trauma,” Eve explains. Her recovery from the emotional fallout became inseparable from dealing with the consequences of those various posts and messages.
Now aged 25, Eve has channelled her experience into a campaign alongside the South Wales Trauma Network, aiming to curb the impulse to film and upload graphic footage at crash scenes. She poses a simple but powerful question: “Would you want your loved one filmed in their most vulnerable moment? Or would you want someone to do what actually matters—call for help?” The campaign, aptly titled ‘It’s not your story to tell,’ has drawn support from emergency services, including police and ambulance teams. Its message is clear: accident scenes are not opportunities for content creation, but moments requiring compassion and respect.
Eve now cares for her father Nigel, a former delivery driver whose life was irreversibly altered by the crash. She hopes her advocacy will help foster a culture of empathy, where immediate needs and dignity take precedence over shallow engagement online. “If sharing my story prevents even one family from going through what we did, then it’s worth it,” she says.
South Wales Trauma Network Operations Manager, Andrea Bradley—a senior nurse with years of experience—praised Eve’s resilience in highlighting the far-reaching ramifications of irresponsible social media use at accident sites. “It complicates our work as first responders and, as Eve’s experience shows, causes ongoing pain for patients and their families,” Bradley noted.
Sarah Murphy, the Welsh Government’s minister for mental health and wellbeing, echoed these concerns. “A moment’s curiosity can translate into lasting trauma for others. Eve and Nigel’s story is a stark reminder that these choices have real human costs,” she said, commending Eve’s courage and urging the public to prioritise seeking help over reaching for their phones.
The campaign continues to gather attention and support, with the hope that stories like Eve’s will serve as a turning point in public attitudes. As families across Wales and beyond grapple with the intersection of tragedy and technology, advocates call for a renewed focus on empathy—a reminder, above all, of the importance of human connection when it matters most.