A FORMER model, who fought for compensation for 17 years after a car accident ended her catwalk dreams, yesterday accepted an undisclosed sum for her injuries.
Maria Ruddy, 32, was in hospital for three months and needed ten plastic surgery operations following a three-car crash in 1984.
Miss Ruddy, of Gosforth, Newcastle, was the passenger in a Ford Cortina estate which hit a central reservation before crashing into a van and another car.
The driver was killed and nine others injured in the accident on the A1058 road, near Newcastle, in December 1984.
The former model, a finalist in the Face of 1984 national competition, was 16 when the accident happened.
She suffered facial injuries, a broken thigh and concussion and has been dogged by psychological trauma ever since.
The dead driver's insurers, Norwich Union, yesterday agreed a five-figure out-of-court settlement.
Miss Ruddy has already received £28,000 interim payments. She will now be paid the balance of the settlement.
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