Middleton victim's sympathy for car driver
A FORGIVING mother has offered sympathy to a drunken motorist who drove off after mowing down her and her son on the A47 near Middleton last October.
Sarah Hall (32), nearly died from a shattered pelvis, stomach and leg wounds and her teenage son, Jamie, suffered serious head injuries in the collision.
Mrs Hall, of St Marys Terrace, Middleton, spoke out from her wheelchair after the car driver, Timothy Wise, was jailed for 17 months at Norwich Crown Court on Tuesday.
Read also: Drunk left mum with eight pelvic fractures.
She said: "I think the sentence was a bit harsh. We didn't want that. Our hearts went out to his parents because they got sentenced as well. His mother was devastated."
She admitted viewing things differently when she ill was in hospital but said: "Since coming home, I have had time to reflect and my views have changed. There are no hard feelings from us to him or his family at all."
Mrs Hall's husband, Jim (57), said they felt sorry for Wise, who had made one mistake which had ruined his life. "My heart went out to him," he said. He believed a suspended sentence coupled with community service would have been more appropriate in Wise's case.
He paid tribute to his wife, whose pelvis was broken in eight places and has nerve and muscle damage in her leg.
She faces 18 months of physiotherapy to get her walking again and may always need the help of a stick.
"She has really showed strength and determination. She wouldn't be beaten and I'm proud of her," said Mr Hall.
Mrs Hall admitted feeling some bitterness towards Wise (22), for what happened to Jamie. "He left my son although he didn't know if he was alive or dead," she said.
The 16-year-old suffered a gash to the back of his head, bleeding from the front of his brain and bruising to his brain. He is still not fully recovered and Mrs Hall said he was more moody than before the accident. But his love and support had helped her recuperate. "It has made us closer," she said.
Jamie said of Wise: "I don't like him for what he has done to my mum but I think he got too long in prison."
Mrs Hall's younger sons, Ross (6), and Aaron (10), were also affected by what happened. "I can't take them to school or pick them up and do the things mums do.
'SAVED MY LIFE'
"On Ross' sixth birthday, I couldn't pick him up and give him a cuddle. That was the hardest thing," she said.
She supported the three-year driving ban imposed on Wise, of Gayton. "Drink driving is out of hand. It's got to be stopped," she hit out.
Mrs Hall thanked her friend, Miss Michelle Reeve (37), of Lynn, for saving her life by calling the emergency services on her mobile phone after the accident. She said she had walked home along the A47 several times and it did not worry her. "But I won't ever walk it again, never," she said.
She also expressed heartfelt thanks to her surgeon, Mr Patel, at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Mr Hall praised the police, paramedics, doctors and nurses who helped on the night of the accident. "We owe them a debt of gratitude greater than words can convey," he added.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
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