An Essex man who lost months of his life after a devastating crash at 17 is now using his story to warn young drivers that “one split second can change everything”.
Lee Bearman was involved in a serious crash in Great Saling in 1993.
He spent more than three weeks in a coma and nearly four months in hospital after doctors feared he could be left permanently paralysed on his right side.
More than three decades on, Lee has written the memoir One Second. One Crash. One Second Chance. and is warning young people about the dangers of the road.
“It’s all a mystery. Five or six months of my life completely taken away,” he said. “When I got home, I had to try to get my life back to normal. I had to learn how to live again.”
Before the crash, Lee was 17 and had a clear path ahead.
An A-grade student studying technology, maths and physics, he planned to build a career with Ford Motor Company.
But the accident changed everything.
“I had it all set up, but the accident wrecked everything,” he said.
Lee eventually returned to education, but struggled to rebuild his life.
He had to redo his GCSEs and A-levels while relearning everyday skills, describing the experience as “humiliating”.
“I was learning all the time. It was like clicking the pieces into a jigsaw puzzle,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, he completed a university degree and achieved his goal of working for Ford.
“After all the efforts, I want people to know amazing things did happen to me because I kept at it,” he said.
“You can get what you want, but you have to put your heart and soul into it.”
Now 50 and a father, Lee says writing his book was a personal turning point that helped him share his message.
“I was lying in bed thinking, ‘I have to do something about this’,” he said. “I had to spill my heart out. I cried my eyes out while I was writing it.
“Before I released the book, I couldn’t speak about the accident - it was too much. But now I can, because it’s all down on paper.”
Revisiting the crash helped Lee understand its impact on those around him.
“You’ve got to realise it’s not just yourself that you’re hurting, it’s all your loved ones too,” he said.
“Now I’m 50, I can look back as a father and feel what my parents would’ve gone through.”
Lee was not at fault for the crash.
As Lee drove around a dangerous bend, another car hit him head-on.
“They walked away and I was taken to hospital. I had to be cut out of the car,” he said.
Lee is determined to make young drivers face that reality.
“I’m not telling drivers how to drive, I just want them to respect the roads,” he said.
“When you get behind the wheel, you’re responsible. There are so many distractions nowadays, mixed with the inevitable teenager process of showing off in front of friends.”
Lee is arranging school talks, including one in Saffron Walden, and discussing with driving instructors how to use his story in lessons.
“I don’t want another 17-year-old thinking it won’t happen to them,” he said. “The whole point of the book is to make people realise one decision can ruin your life.”
For Lee, his “second chance” means more than survival: it means preventing another crash.
“I take it as my second chance to live and share my story, and to stop it happening to them,” he said. “If I can stop one mistake and save one life, that’s all I want to do.”
Lee has kept the book’s price as low as possible so everyone can afford it, with copies costing £5.95.
Lee added: “I want everyone to be able to afford a copy.
“Kids, students, parents — everybody needs to read this!”
After 33 years living with the consequences, Lee now focuses on the present.
“I live day by day now because who knows what’s going to happen?” he said. “Now is the time to live life, make memories and get what you want.”
Lee’s memoir is available on Amazon.
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