Former nurse helps injured spectators after TT crash

Muriel Kelly has lived on the TT course in Ramsey for 40 years

Report by BBC Isle of Man:

An eyewitness to an Isle of Man TT crash that left the rider and eight spectators injured has described the incident as "terrifying" and had "never seen anything like that before".

Two spectators remain in the UK receiving specialist care after a competitor crashed into a crowd by Albert Square in Ramsey during the opening practice session of the 2026 festival on Monday.

Muriel Kelly is a retired nurse who has lived on the course in the town for 40 years, close to where the incident happened.

"We've seen people crash their bikes or come off, but I've never seen anybody go into a group of spectators like that. It was terrifying really," she said.

It happened at about 1.50pm on the exit to Parliament Square before the incline onto the Mountain Road.

Event organisers later announced spectators would be prohibited from the viewing area at Albert Square for the rest of the festival as a "precautionary measure".

'Major incident'

Kelly, a former nurse, said the scale of the incident became immediately clear as confusion spread through the packed crowd.

"It was just chaos," she said. "I waited for a minute, then I asked the marshal if he needed help."

She was taken across to assist casualties, joining two other off-duty nurses – holidaymakers visiting from England – who had already stepped forward.

"There were three casualties on the ground as I went over, so I took the third casualty," she said, adding: "There were other injured people around, but these three seemed to be the worst."

She said among those hurt was a family who had been standing together to watch the racing.

"It was a major incident," she said, adding: "I've never seen such a bad accident like that before."

The Albert Square area has now been closed off to spectators

Although emergency responders arrived quickly, Kelly admitted the emotional impact lingered long after the scene was cleared.

She said: "Every time I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep at night I just kept seeing it all again, all the people on the ground."

"It wasn't good."

However Kelly praised the emergency services' response.

She said the police and paramedics "were fantastic" and were "fantastic when they started to manoeuvre the patients".

Organisers confirmed six spectators and the competitor had now been discharged from hospital, while two people remained in specialist care in the UK.

The Isle of Man Constabulary has appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to upload photographs or video footage to a secure portal while an investigation takes place.

Despite the shock of Monday's events, the Ramsey resident said it had not fundamentally changed how she viewed the TT.

"No, no, it was a bad accident," she said.

"We don't know why it happened but it's never really happened like that before in Ramsey anyway."

"I think this was a fluke."