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Mum describes "haunting" memories of hit-and-run
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| Time heals: Jack is set to make a full recovery from his injuries |
A woman has spoken of her horror when she faced every mother's nightmare and found her seven-year-old son lying on the road after his pelvis was fractured in a hit-and-run.
Joanna Brazil, 35, from Garrick Court, Edgware, has condemned the driver of the car that hit her son for fleeing the scene without checking if her son, Jack, was even alive.
She said: "The image of him lying in the road will haunt me for the rest of my life. Thankfully he was screaming his head off so I knew he was alive. I was screaming and crying.
"I had awful insomnia from the fear he could have died, but I have to hold it together for my
children."
Jack was hit by a car outside their home in Stonegrove Estate on March 25, after chasing a football across the road.
He was left lying face-down on the road with tyre marks on his back while a silver car made off towards the A41.
He was taken to hospital by air ambulance in a serious condition, but has since returned home and is expected to make a full
recovery.
Mrs Brazil refused to blame the driver for the accident, saying Jack should have checked before he crossed the road as he had been told to do "a million times."
"But not to stop was what was hard to understand.
"God forbid I'd hit anyone in my car, but if I did, I would stop. Morally, I couldn't live with myself knowing I hadn't. As a human being, you have to stop and try to help, and that's what I'm angry about," she said.
The speed of Jack's recovery has been "fantastic," according to his mother, although he still uses a frame to walk and has not yet returned to school.
"All that matters to me now is he's alive and he's getting better," she said.
"He's a cheeky, football-loving boy who loves telling jokes and I didn't want this to affect him psychologically.
"He's a small lad, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in personality."
She described his best friend, 11-year-old Reece Jarram, as a hero for running to get her after the accident, and said her 11-year-old daughter, Laura, has also been "fantastic".
Mrs Brazil added: "I know he's getting better now because they stopped arguing after the accident, but now she says he's her annoying little brother again."
She has also urged Barnet Council to consider traffic calming measures on the estate.
At the moment, children play just yards away from a busy roundabout at the intersection of three major A-roads.
"It's amazing that this hasn't happened before," she said. "I'm speaking on behalf of all parents on the estate and I want something done.
"In the summer there are kids of all ages outside and outside their homes they should be safe. We're not asking for a lot - we just want people to slow down."
Anyone with information about the accident should call Barnet Police on 020 8200 1212.
11:23am Thursday 17th April 2008
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