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Girls speak of accident horror
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| Victoria, Emily, Catherine and Lisa |
FOUR schoolgirls who were knocked down by a van nearly a year ago have spoken for the first time about their ordeal.
The Year 7 pupils from Bishop Justus School, Magpie Lane, Bromley, were standing on the pavement waiting for the lights at a crossing to change when the accident happened on November 12 last year.
Emily Rose managed to pull two of her friends, Victoria Costin and Lisa Burch, back as the van came towards them, but all four were knocked to the ground at the junction of Bromley Common and Turpington Lane.
Twelve-year-old Emily said: "I remember lying on the floor and seeing Lisa unconscious, which was really freaky.
"Then I saw Catherine lying there and I saw her leg and I began to panic."
Catherine Lindley, who is now 12 and who suffered the most serious injuries, including a broken leg, was taken by ambulance to King's College Hospital in central London.
She spent the next month in hospital before returning to her home in Southlands Avenue, Orpington.
Catherine was tutored at home and had to take more than five months off school.
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| Girls and their mums |
In total she has had four operations on her leg.
She now moves around using crutches and a wheelchair and needs two people to help her move between lessons.
Doctors believe she will walk again but she is awaiting another operation.
In July, she received a Princess Diana Award for bravery at Wesminster University for overcoming adverse circumstances.
She said: "It was my birthday as well and I got a massive cake. I was really excited."
Lisa, who was 11 at the time of the accident, said: "I remember waking up and thinking Am I in bed?' I was really confused. They had to cut all my clothes off."
Victoria, who was then 12, and Lisa were taken to the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough, suffering cuts and bruises.
Emily was able to go home after having a check-up at A&E.
She, Victoria and Lisa were able to go back to school after a week and found they were drawing a lot of attention from students and teachers, receiving cards, chocolates and teddy bears.
Lisa said: "On my first day back at school, one of the girls who never talks to me came up to me and gave me a big hug."
All four friends say they try to be positive about the accident and believe it has brought them closer together.
Lisa, who suffered cuts to her face and bruising, said: "I don't have any bad feelings against the driver. He didn't do it on purpose."
"He did come out to see if we were all right."
Lisa, of Fairview Drive, Orpington, added: "If we can make something positive out of this then it is good.
"If we tell other people to be careful then that is good. It drives me insane when I see boys running across the road."
Victoria, of Repton Road, Orpington, says she suffers flashbacks and avoids crossing the road at the site of the crash.
Emily, of Goldfinch Close, Orpington, said: "I will be really careful when I learn to drive.
"I won't be driving around going Oh look at my car'. I will be saying No, slow down'."
THE ACCIDENT HAD AN IMPACT ON MORE THAN JUST THE FOUR GIRLS INVOLVED....
In the moments after the accident, news trickled back to the school and soon the headteacher Kathy Griffths and deputy head Ann McCarthy were on the scene, looking after the girls.
The school's PR and events manager, Mary Vigar, said: "They stopped being teachers and became mums. They didn't want to answer questions in the school, they wanted to be with the girls."
"It was something that affected the whole school. Many pupils and some teachers witnessed the crash and it affected them."
A passerby, Laura, stayed with them, giving Victoria her coat and later visiting Catherine in hospital.
Victoria's mother, 38-year-old Lynda Costin, said: "I was really glad that there were people with them. Laura even gave Victoria her coat."
The attention and support that the girls received did not stop there.
Mrs Costin said: "Teachers came over to visit Victoria. People from the school phoning up three times a day asking.
"It was one of the first experiences of the school as the girls had only just started that term."
Lisa's mother, Jale Burch, 41, said: "The school was fantastic. They were brilliant."
Catherine's mother, Madeleine Lindley, 46, said: "The school has been good about letting Catherine come back, only doing a few lessons."
The driver involved in the accident, who is from Sevenoaks, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at Bexley
Magistrates' Court on June 3.
He was fined £800, ordered to pay £70 costs and had nine penalty points put on his licence.
4:00pm Tuesday 7th October 2008
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CommentPosted by: anon on 4:50pm Tue 7 Oct 08
What a joke, the driver did that to them poor girls and got a fine, what is the world coming to.
What a joke, the driver did that to them poor girls and got a fine, what is the world coming to.
Posted by: claire, Orpington on 5:19pm Tue 7 Oct 08
Well done to all the girls for carrying on as normal and getting on with things. Especialy Catherine you are a great girl & have done so well. xx
Well done to all the girls for carrying on as normal and getting on with things. Especialy Catherine you are a great girl & have done so well. xx
Posted by: Victoria Costin, London on 7:55pm Tue 7 Oct 08
This is deferently correct. I am fine now, thank you reporters for everything.
This is deferently correct. I am fine now, thank you reporters for everything.
Posted by: Excalibur, Bromley on 8:06pm Tue 7 Oct 08
What extremely brave and courageous young ladies, an example to us all.
Beautifully written article too, nice reporting style.
The only downside is the joke of a sentence. For impacting on these young lives in this way - 9 points?! What a complete joke. The law needs changing and until proper sentences get handed down for this sort of thing, they'll continue to happen.
What extremely brave and courageous young ladies, an example to us all.
Beautifully written article too, nice reporting style.
The only downside is the joke of a sentence. For impacting on these young lives in this way - 9 points?! What a complete joke. The law needs changing and until proper sentences get handed down for this sort of thing, they'll continue to happen.
Posted by: David, Lewisham on 8:22pm Tue 7 Oct 08
Driving without due care and attention is like getting a ticket for speeding. Unbelievable.
Driving without due care and attention is like getting a ticket for speeding. Unbelievable.
Posted by: JJ, orpington on 8:57pm Tue 7 Oct 08
Well done girls. You could teach the rest of us athing or two.
Whats the odds that the driver has conections in the legal/justice field or he is very wealthy, as both these type of people tend to get off lightly. Bring back capital punishment!!
Well done girls. You could teach the rest of us athing or two.
Whats the odds that the driver has conections in the legal/justice field or he is very wealthy, as both these type of people tend to get off lightly. Bring back capital punishment!!
Posted by: Stranger, Dartford on 10:48pm Tue 7 Oct 08
When this story first appeared last year the first comment was very nasty to the girls involved. Perhaps that person now needs to post an apology to them.
Glad to see the girls are recovering and hope especially Catherine carries on to have a full recovery.
When this story first appeared last year the first comment was very nasty to the girls involved. Perhaps that person now needs to post an apology to them.
Glad to see the girls are recovering and hope especially Catherine carries on to have a full recovery.
Posted by: St Pauls, Cray on 10:51pm Tue 7 Oct 08
Just want to say great to see the girls on the mend.best wishes to Catherine, in her future operations.
Also would echo the comments of others, the sentence handed out clearly is not severe enough. No doubt the driver pleaded that he would lose his job if he couldnt drive and the judge 'copped out' giving him 9 points which leaves him with enough points to continue driving, knowing that another offence would catch him under 'totting up' with an automatic ban to follow.
Just want to say great to see the girls on the mend.best wishes to Catherine, in her future operations.
Also would echo the comments of others, the sentence handed out clearly is not severe enough. No doubt the driver pleaded that he would lose his job if he couldnt drive and the judge 'copped out' giving him 9 points which leaves him with enough points to continue driving, knowing that another offence would catch him under 'totting up' with an automatic ban to follow.
Posted by: Victoria, London on 8:11am Wed 8 Oct 08
Thank you everyone for everything.
Thank you everyone for everything.
Posted by: lisa burch, orpington on 8:17am Wed 8 Oct 08
Thankyou very much for everyone's support and i am so glad that it is all over!
Thankyou very much for everyone's support and i am so glad that it is all over!
Posted by: Katherine, Bromley on 8:24am Wed 8 Oct 08
A few people thought it was me for a while. It was really depressing. It was netball practice that night after school and both Vicky and Catherine are in the team. It is really great to know that they are getting better!!! Well done to the hospitals!!!
A few people thought it was me for a while. It was really depressing. It was netball practice that night after school and both Vicky and Catherine are in the team. It is really great to know that they are getting better!!! Well done to the hospitals!!!
Posted by: Anonymous, London on 9:46am Wed 8 Oct 08
If you read the comment by Lisa, she said: "I don't have any bad feelings against the driver. He didn't do it on purpose." Perhaps all those of you who appear to want to hang him for an accident should adopt some of the charitable feelings of one of his victims.
If he had been drinking, or tried to knock the girls over on prupose, then a harsher sentence would be appropriate. But in this case it was an accident. I suspect if the News Shopper were to interview him about it, he would say he has flashbacks and re-lives the moment every day of his life. Isn't that punishment enough?
If you read the comment by Lisa, she said: "I don't have any bad feelings against the driver. He didn't do it on purpose." Perhaps all those of you who appear to want to hang him for an accident should adopt some of the charitable feelings of one of his victims.
If he had been drinking, or tried to knock the girls over on prupose, then a harsher sentence would be appropriate. But in this case it was an accident. I suspect if the News Shopper were to interview him about it, he would say he has flashbacks and re-lives the moment every day of his life. Isn't that punishment enough?
Posted by: Joe, Bromley on 11:57am Wed 8 Oct 08
[quote][bold]St Pauls[/bold] wrote:
Just want to say great to see the girls on the mend.best wishes to Catherine, in her future operations.
Also would echo the comments of others, the sentence handed out clearly is not severe enough. No doubt the driver pleaded that he would lose his job if he couldnt drive and the judge 'copped out' giving him 9 points which leaves him with enough points to continue driving, knowing that another offence would catch him under 'totting up' with an automatic ban to follow.
[/quote] Come on, the girls have forgiven him, and you don't know all the details, so leave your opinion to yourselves.
If he was drunk or on a mobile etc, he would have been prosecuted with a more serious offence. But he wasn't, so there is no point bantering on about the sentence.
St Pauls wrote:
Just want to say great to see the girls on the mend.best wishes to Catherine, in her future operations.
Also would echo the comments of others, the sentence handed out clearly is not severe enough. No doubt the driver pleaded that he would lose his job if he couldnt drive and the judge 'copped out' giving him 9 points which leaves him with enough points to continue driving, knowing that another offence would catch him under 'totting up' with an automatic ban to follow.
Come on, the girls have forgiven him, and you don't know all the details, so leave your opinion to yourselves.
If he was drunk or on a mobile etc, he would have been prosecuted with a more serious offence. But he wasn't, so there is no point bantering on about the sentence.
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