A mum has told how she thought her son had been killed by a 79-year-old ‘drunk’ driver who ploughed a car through a shop window - sweeping the six-year-old away as he picked out sweets.
The horrifying impact was captured on CCTV footage released after driver Marion Smith, believed to be a former school headteacher, was sentenced in court.
The footage shows the car, a red Ford Fiesta, smashing through the front door and window of Landside Wine Stores on Chestnut Drive South in Leigh, near Wigan , in May.
The schoolboy can be seen happily picking out sweets from a shelf when, seconds later, the vehicle careers through the glass door straight into him - shunting him into some shelving. He was buried beneath the wreckage.
The boy’s mum, who has asked not to be named, said that seconds earlier, his twin sister was standing by his side.
Remarkably, an off-duty accident and emergency nurse happened to be in the store and is seen in the footage picking up the boy and carrying him to safety as his mum hammers on the driver’s window to stop her revving the car’s engine. She believed he was trapped under the wheels as exhaust fumes filled the shop.
The 39-year-old mum, from Leigh, told how she heard her son scream ‘mummy’.
'He could have been killed'
She said: “We had been at a friend’s house earlier that day and decided to have a barbecue. My boy was looking at the sweets and I was at the other side of the shop looking for burgers and other stuff for the barbecue. My daughter was also looking at sweets seconds before the car hit.
“All of a sudden the lights went out and there was an explosion. I grabbed my daughter and was shouting for my son. I just didn’t know where he was and I thought he could have been killed.
“It is only a small shop and I was just yards away. Panic was rising and all of a sudden I heard ‘mummy’. We both ran over and the doctor pulled him out. There was glass everywhere and I remember the shop’s front door lying on the car’s roof.”
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Incredibly, the boy escaped with bruises to his back and legs, but his mum has revealed he’s still haunted by what happened. They fled through the back of the store and were taken in by neighbours before emergency services attended.
The mum added: “He wasn’t crying. He was just silent and in shock. He’s been very brave.
Selfish and irresponsible
Police said Smith, of Beech Walk, Leigh, was ‘drunk’ at the time. She later pleaded guilty to failing to provide a sample of breath and driving without due care and attention. At Wigan and Leigh magistrates court, she was banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work, with costs of £170.
The boy’s mum added: “My son and daughter could have been killed. I feel her actions and behaviour was selfish and irresponsible.”
Police said the incident came as a summer drink-drive crackdown was being launched.
Sergeant John Brennan said: “This was a horrific ordeal for the young boy and his family. Thankfully he is alive and well but those terrifying moments will stay with his family forever.
“When you choose to drive a car after having a drink, you are also choosing to put other people at risk. This family popped to the shop to buy some sweets yet found themselves caught up in somebody else’s selfish decision to drive while drunk. We have released this footage to reiterate the dangers of driving under the influence and the devastating impact it can have on other people.”
