The family of a 13 year old girl who was hit by a van last week is furious no charges will be laid against the driver.
Tash Ellery says her daughter and her friend were walking home from the Black Cat diary at around 5.45pm on Friday, June 22 and had stopped on an island next to Waimea Rd when a van travelling from Stoke hit her in the face with its wing mirror. The girl was texting her mother at the time of the accident so didn’t see the van coming, her friend jumped out of the way at the last second.
The Nelson College for Girls student suffered facial injuries, requiring 12 stiches around her cheek and ear and a broken ankle. She was rushed to hospital and had two screws put in her ankle.
Nelson Bays area commander, Inspector Steve Greally, says he was unaware of the incident until contacted by Nelson Weekly.
“I haven’t had the chance to speak with the staff involved to establish exactly what happened. But I will investigate.”
Tash says she was distraught when she heard about the accident and rushed to the hospital where her daughter was “a real mess”.
“She was really upset. It was horrible.”
Police told Tash the driver of the van had been at the pub, where he admitted having a jug of beer. He didn’t stop after the accident and returned 40 minutes later where he saw police, pulled over and admitted hitting the girl. He was breathalysed but was under the limit. Tash says the driver told police he thought the whack was kids throwing something at his van and he pulled over later because he saw the police and thought they may have been investigating what had been thrown.
Tash says she was told on Sunday by police that no charges would be laid.
“I was so angry, the officer just said ‘nope, nothing we can do’. I can’t believe it.”
She says her daughter is also angry, unable to play football for the rest of the season and without a cell phone after it was smashed in the crash. She would like to see the driver lose his licence. “My daughter can’t walk at the moment and she could have permanent damage and he doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist.”
Tash’s brother Clayton says he couldn’t believe it when his sister told him there would be no charges laid and posted his frustration on Facebook. That comment attracted more than 100 comments and 1000 “likes” within hours. “I couldn’t believe how quick it happened but it was nice to see people thinking the same as us. Like it’s not just us that think that because it’s our family, others think it’s wrong too.”
Inspector Greally says he will get in touch with the Weekly as soon as he has spoken with his staff.
