Hit-and-run driver left me crawling in the road (From Echo)
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Hit-and-run driver left me crawling in the road
12:00pm Thursday 28th June 2012 in Basildon By Gina Marden
Shocked – Amy Swanson is recovering at home
A TEENAGER has told how she was forced to drag herself to safety after she was left lying in the road by a callous hit-and-run driver.
Amy Swanson crawled to the kerb and had to call for help herself after the motorist calmly drove away after hitting knocking her over, and breaking one of her kneecaps.
The teen, who is on crutches, will now miss out on a holiday to celebrate her 16th birthday, as a result of her injuries.
Speaking to the Echo while she laid up at home, Amy said: “I had looked left and right and as I crossed the road the car just came from nowhere and hit me.”
The dazed 15-year-old began crawling to the kerb as the man driving the car got out and walked over to her.
He even asked her if she was all right, but then walked back to his car.
Amy, who has just finished her GCSEs at James Hornsby High Schoool, said: “As I reached for my mobile phone, he started walking.
“I thought he was going to get help, but the engine of his car started and he drove away.
“I was really shocked. I dragged myself to the kerb and managed to call my friend, boyfriend and my mum.”
Amy had been visiting a friend at around 4.30pm on Saturday, June 16.
She was walking back to her home in The Nave, Laindon when she was hit by the car as she crossed Cumberland Drive, outside Merrylands School.
Amy’s mum Sarah, 33, who raced to the scene of the incident with her dad Mark, 37, said she was fuming at the driver’s actions.
She said: “How can anyone hit a child and just drive away?
“It’s just awful. I know Amy is lucky to be alive, it could have been a lot worse.
“But I’m so angry that someone could just walk away.”
Now laid up laid up and nursing her kneecap injury, Amy is awaiting a scan to assess whether she suffered ligament damage as a result of the collision.
As well as missing out on her birthday holiday to Gran Canaria, Amy will also be forced to attend her school prom on crutches and will be unable to wear her new glamorous heels or dance with her pals.
Police are still trying to trace the driver of the car, thought to have been a black Ford.
He is white, aged in his twenties, about 6ft tall, with brown, spiky hair.
He wore sunglasses, a Super-dry T-shirt, Ralph Lauren shoes, jeans, silver bangles and a fabric wristband.
Witnesses to the crash or anyone who recognises the description of the driver, should call investigating officer PC Alun Causaker at the Laindon road policing unit on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Comments(23)
crowny
says...
12:17pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Isnt that a bit odd ?
Russ13
says...
12:26pm Thu 28 Jun 12
R85 wrote:Hit & Run may be a little extreme given he did check if the girl was OK but it would probably still count as leaving the scene/failing to report an accident.
Hit and run? What exactly went down? It doesn’t sound like a hit and run, as he got out and asked her if she was OK!! I’m not saying its not callous but in the eyes of the law is it hit-and-run????
Any road collision you are involved with *should* be reported to the police.
It would be easy to draw the conclusion that the driver was under the influence and/or driving without insurance/tax/MOT and didn't want the police involved but that would just be speculation at this point..........
Barry Bas
says...
12:27pm Thu 28 Jun 12
R85 wrote:I don't know for sure but I think it would be classed at leaving the scene of an accident. Especially as he obviously didn't leave any details.
Hit and run? What exactly went down? It doesn’t sound like a hit and run, as he got out and asked her if she was OK!! I’m not saying its not callous but in the eyes of the law is it hit-and-run????
They say he asked her if she was ok but it doesn't say what her answer was. If it was me I probably would have said "Does it look like I'm ok?".
At least she is on the mend, it could have been a lot worse.
Terry2says
says...
12:38pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Truth Will Prevail
says...
12:51pm Thu 28 Jun 12
angthepang
says...
12:58pm Thu 28 Jun 12
I can't beleive that a girl has been hit, injured, left to fend for herself and people are querying what details she gave to police?
BIRLIS
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1:29pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Hope they catch him and she recovers soon.
CALL ME CLINT
says...
1:29pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Road Traffic Act 1988 s.170
As soon as your car is involved in an accident (this is defined in law but is pretty much common sense) you need to take the following steps to ensure you do not break the law. Your duties are to stop, to give information, in some cases to produce your insurance certificate and in some cases to report the accident to the police
Preconditions
If, as a driver, you are involved in a road-traffic accident and one or more of the following occurs :
a) a person, other than yourself, is injured,
b) damage is caused to another vehicle or to someone else’s property,
c) an animal has been killed or injured, except in your own vehicle or trailer (an ‘animal’ is defined as ‘any horse, cattle, ****, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog’)
Requirements
You must:
a) stop and remain at the scene for a reasonable period
b) give your vehicle registration number, your name and address, and that of the vehicle owner (if different), to anyone with reasonable grounds for asking for those details
c) If you do not exchange those details at the scene, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police constable as soon as you can, and in any case within 24 hours.
Further requirement in injury cases
Where injury is caused to another person, then in addition to the above you must also:
a) Produce your certificate of insurance, if anyone at the scene has reasonable grounds to see it. If you do not, you must report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as you can and in any case within 24 hours. You’ll need to produce your certificate of insurance. If you don’t have your certificate of insurance when reporting the accident to the police, you may take it to the police station you nominate when you report the incident. You must do this within seven days of the accident.
Offences
A failure to comply with these obligations can mean two offences are being committed: failing to stop and failing to report. It is possible to be guilty of either or both. The penalties for each offence include a maximum fine of £5,000, five to ten penalty points. The court also has the power to disqualify you from driving for either offence and is likely to do so when both offences are committed on the same occasion. Failing to stop or report an accident carries a maximum of six months’ imprisonment.
Even if there was no personal injury involved, if someone holds you responsible for the accident, they have the right to request your insurance details. This request can be made later; it does not necessarily have to be at the time of the accident. A failure to provide that information without a reasonable excuse is also an offence.
On the face of it, the driver in this case has failed to fulfill his responsibilities but, of course, I wasn't there.
Blind Haze
says...
1:40pm Thu 28 Jun 12
crowny
says...
3:01pm Thu 28 Jun 12
angthepang wrote:i wasnt querying it, i just thought it was a bit odd. whats more odd is why she didnt apply the fake tan to the tops of her arms. if she turned horizontal she'd blend into the stripey wallpaper
She didn't see the car before it hit her and presumably he stopped far enough away that she couldn't see the car's badges. As he walked towards her she obviously got a better look at him and as she was on the floor, she would have got a very good look at his shoes. I can't beleive that a girl has been hit, injured, left to fend for herself and people are querying what details she gave to police?
Blind Haze
says...
3:04pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Barry Bas
says...
3:31pm Thu 28 Jun 12
crowny wrote:It might not be fake tan, it might be natural. I don't sunbathe but in the summer I wear a tshirt and I end up with two nicely tanned forearms but the rest of me remains a pasty white.
angthepang wrote: She didn't see the car before it hit her and presumably he stopped far enough away that she couldn't see the car's badges. As he walked towards her she obviously got a better look at him and as she was on the floor, she would have got a very good look at his shoes. I can't beleive that a girl has been hit, injured, left to fend for herself and people are querying what details she gave to police?i wasnt querying it, i just thought it was a bit odd. whats more odd is why she didnt apply the fake tan to the tops of her arms. if she turned horizontal she'd blend into the stripey wallpaper
R85
says...
3:35pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Barry Bas wrote:Indeedi I always end up with dirty lookin knees where I go much darker on my knees! Actually looks like dirt by the end of summer! Weird!
crowny wrote:It might not be fake tan, it might be natural. I don't sunbathe but in the summer I wear a tshirt and I end up with two nicely tanned forearms but the rest of me remains a pasty white.angthepang wrote: She didn't see the car before it hit her and presumably he stopped far enough away that she couldn't see the car's badges. As he walked towards her she obviously got a better look at him and as she was on the floor, she would have got a very good look at his shoes. I can't beleive that a girl has been hit, injured, left to fend for herself and people are querying what details she gave to police?i wasnt querying it, i just thought it was a bit odd. whats more odd is why she didnt apply the fake tan to the tops of her arms. if she turned horizontal she'd blend into the stripey wallpaper
Barry Bas
says...
3:36pm Thu 28 Jun 12
I would love to know what the four stars replace. At a guess I would say an American slang term for bottom that is also a type of donkey.
Terry2says
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4:06pm Thu 28 Jun 12
Bubble1
says...
5:36pm Thu 28 Jun 12
As for the young girls description I think she has done very well to remember anything at all as she could well have been in shock. She must be a brave young lady and I hope she makes a full recovery and the cowardly 'man' is caught.
APR
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10:38pm Thu 28 Jun 12
frostyangel1
says...
7:24am Fri 29 Jun 12
Does most of the people that leave comments have to be so nasty?!
At the end of the day the bloke should NOT have left her alone, He is a spineless coward!
frostyangel1
says...
7:30am Fri 29 Jun 12
frostyangel1 wrote:I will correct myself DO most of the people that leave comments have to be so nasty?! ~ Before people start picking holes in that!
I can not believe my eyes!!!
Does most of the people that leave comments have to be so nasty?!
At the end of the day the bloke should NOT have left her alone, He is a spineless coward!
Alfiee
says...
4:41pm Fri 29 Jun 12
frostyangel1 wrote:Well said some people have nothing better to do than make stupid comments. Hope they find him.
I can not believe my eyes!!!
Does most of the people that leave comments have to be so nasty?!
At the end of the day the bloke should NOT have left her alone, He is a spineless coward!
rob1806
says...
5:04pm Fri 29 Jun 12
Amy, make a swift recovery and hope you get better very soon, and I imagine the DECENT people who don't take p+++ feel the same!!
Take care, and a speedy recovery.
R85
says...
11:21am Mon 2 Jul 12
Alfiee wrote:As if making stupid comments is somehow going to have a negative impact on her! Chill the fk out, why are there so many stiff idiots out there who don’t know how to have a laugh and NOT TAKE EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY or literally! Fk me man you need some Family Guy or Dave Chappelle in your lives – either that or you need to get laid! People should be able to joke about whatever they want – if you don’t like it don’t read it/listen to it/watch it – don’t be ridiculously offended like an 80 year old, set-in-their-ways who still seems to think we live in the 40s!
frostyangel1 wrote: I can not believe my eyes!!! Does most of the people that leave comments have to be so nasty?! At the end of the day the bloke should NOT have left her alone, He is a spineless coward!Well said some people have nothing better to do than make stupid comments. Hope they find him.
R85 says...
12:08pm Thu 28 Jun 12
I’m not saying its not callous but in the eyes of the law is it hit-and-run????