Woman sentenced following Ellesmere Port nursey collision

A woman who crashed into a nursery school playground in Ellesmere Port has been sentenced.

Jayne James appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 24th September, where she was sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

The sentencing comes after the 63-year-old, of Knottingley Drive in Great Sutton, previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at the same court on Wednesday 26th August. Alongside her suspended sentence, James was also handed a two-year driving ban.

The court was told that on Tuesday 16th June, James drove a grey Omoda people carrier into the car park of the nursery just off Vale Road, Ellesmere Port, on a school drop off.

The vehicle then moved forward at pace and collided with a wooden fence separating the car park from the nursery playground, which was currently occupied by 22 children aged between two and three years old.

The vehicle continued through the playground before colliding with a brick wall, pinning a two-year-old boy between the front wheel of the vehicle and the wall itself.

Two other children were also injured by flying debris as the Omoda crashed through the fence, sustaining minor injuries.

A staff member present on the playground at the time quickly intervened and pulled the pinned child out from out under the car and proceeded to call emergency services.

All three children were taken to hospital for treatment and, luckily, had only sustained minor injuries and have since been discharged.

The child who had been pinned by the vehicle sustained a considerable friction burn on their torso, believed to be attributed to the still moving wheel that they had become trapped under.

James was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

In interview, she told officers she had been driving the vehicle at the time of the collision but could not remember any specific details as to how it occurred.

She went on to say that she had been driving the vehicle for a number of months but did mention that there was a feature on the Omoda, an automatic vehicle, that meant it would begin to accelerate if a certain pedal was pressed whilst it was stationary.

Following an examination of the vehicle by officers, it was determined to have no mechanical faults that could have caused or contributed toward the collision.

Detective Sergeant Amy Hollis, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said:

“The lives of over 20 young children were put at serious risk as a result of James’ inability to control her vehicle. Three of them were injured, one of them was trapped between the vehicle and a brick wall, all of them were left scared.

“Despite the distressing nature of the incident, I would like to give the members of staff who helped get the children to safety, as well as the attending Cheshire Police and emergency service colleagues who managed the scene my profound thanks for their efforts.

“The outcome could have been very different. I am very glad to hear that all the children injured in the collision both directly and indirectly have been discharged from hospital and have since made a full physical recovery. That being said, they and their families continue to be supported by our partner agencies as a result of the emotional and psychological impact of the collision which is likely to have a lasting result.”

Pictured - Jayne James of Knottingley Drive in Great Sutton.