A TEENAGE girl remains in a serious condition in hospital after she was mown down while out with her family.

Eye-witnesses say the 15-year-old was thrown into the air when she was hit by a car driven by an elderly man who lost control after he became unwell at the wheel.

She was walking with her family in Chapeltown Road, Bromley Cross, at about 10.50am yesterday (SUN) when the car mounted the pavement and hit her.

An air ambulance, which was forced to land in the grounds of nearby Turton High School because of overhead power cables, flew the girl to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where she remains.

She is suffering from head injuries and her condition is described as serious but stable.

Police have said they do not expect her condition to change in the near future.

The driver of the car, a man believed to be in his 80s, was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital. He too is in a serious but stable condition.

First to arrive at the scene of the accident was Chapeltown Road resident Ray Aspin.

He said: “I pulled up I think about 20 seconds after it happened. Her father told me she had been flung in to the air as a result of the impact of the car.

“She was drifting in and out of consciousness and blood was coming from her head. Her mother, who said she is a nurse, was pleading with her saying ‘stay with us’.


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“The elderly man was just sitting at the wheel and did not appear to realise what had just happened. I offered to help him, but he was just sitting there.”

Up to 10 police cars and two ambulances were at the scene and the section of Chapeltown Road between Bromley Cross railway station and the junction of Darwen Road was closed for several hours for the police accident investigation team.

Former Bolton mayor and councillor for Bromley Cross, Alan Wilkinson, is also a resident of Chapeltown Road.

He said: “It is a busy stretch of road.

“There was a serious accident here a couple of years ago in which a cyclist was badly injured.

“Motorists do tend to go a little too fast up here, but this looks like a very unfortunate freak accident. My heart goes out to the girl and her family.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “People are always driving up and down here way too fast. They seem to think they are approaching a derestricted country lane, but they are not.”

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the accident to contact Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Collision Unit on 0161 856 4741.