It's a miracle my daughter is alive

Jan 9 2007 By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail

A MOTHER whose daughter was left "looking like the Elephant Man" after a horrific hit-and-run said today it was a miracle she was still alive.

Leah Webb, aged ten, of Maple Road, Priory Estate, Dudley, suffered a brain haemorrhage, a fractured cheekbone and wrist and facial injuries after being struck by the callous driver on a zebra crossing just yards from her home.

Her mother Helen Millward - who screamed with horror when she saw Leah after her tearful friends brought her home - today urged anyone shielding the driver to turn him in.

"The doctors who examined Leah could not believe she survived the accident," she said. "She could have been left brain damaged or even killed. The car driver smashed into her on a zebra crossing, sending Leah flying into the air, and did not even stop.

"The man needs locking up. If something like this happens again the next child might not be so lucky."

Leah, a pupil at Priory Primary School in Dudley, should have gone back to school last Thursday after the Christmas holiday.

But she has been told to rest for two weeks as she is still suffering from blurred vision as a result of the accident.

Leah was with her sister Nicole, aged 13, and her friend Hannah Williams, aged ten, when the accident happened on the pedestrian crossing in Priory Road, near the junction with Cedar Road, at about 7pm on New Year's Day.

Nicole and Hannah crossed the road moments before Leah was struck by a dark blue or black Vauxhall Corsa with darkened windows.

Mrs Millward, aged 35, added: "Leah had gone with Nicole and Hannah to a shop and the accident happened only about 20 yards from our house.

"Leah was badly dazed and Nicole and Hannah managed to drag her up the road. I have never seen anything like it when I first clapped eyes on Leah. It was like something from a horror film. She looked just like the Elephant Man.

"It really was a terrible sight - her face was covered with blood and badly swollen. How anyone could do such a thing and leave someone for dead is beyond me.

"I hope whoever reads this has a conscience. Someone out there knows who was driving that car that night and I am pleading with them to contact the police."

Anyone with any information on the hit-and-run is urged to contact the road policing unit at Dudley on 0845 1135000.