Toddler saved by coat after car hit pushchair
Published: January 14, 2005
A toddler has her thick woolly coat to thank for her life after a car ploughed into her pushchair, hurtling her into the air and then dragging her under the wheels.
Molly Wright suffered only cuts and bruises after being dragged for 20 yards under the car after the accident near her home in Mexborough, South Yorkshire.
Police investigators believe the youngster’s escape was down to the fact she became wedged by her winter coat into the wheel arch of the car, which stopped her being crushed.
But while the 20-month-old child had an amazing escape, her mum Vanessa, 30, was left with a broken leg, pelvis and arm.
Mrs Wright was walking home with Molly after dropping off her two older daughters, Emily, ten, and April, three, at school, when the driver of a passing car was suddenly taken ill, causing her car to veer out of control and hit them.
Staff from nearby Mexborough Montagu Hospital rushed out to help, and one of the first at the scene was Mrs Wright’s father, John Hardwick, a hospital caretaker.
Molly’s dad, builder Steve Wright, 40, said: “It’s unbelievable that they both survived the crash, it’s a miracle.
“Vanessa has serious injuries and we have been told she will be in Doncaster Royal Infirmary for at least six weeks.
“But how Molly survived virtually uninjured is beyond belief. She has been incredibly lucky.”
He said: “I know the word miracle might sound over the top but that’s what it was.
“The police reckon she somehow jammed under the wheel arch, because of the marks on her coat.
“Luckily she had a thick fluffy jacket and that protected her.”
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said the driver of the car had not been arrested or interviewed. It was believed that the driver had been taken ill at the wheel.
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