Teenager fights for life after being hit by car opposite Stratford shops

 
Police examine the car at the scene of the crash Picture: Nigel Howard
PICTURE BY: NIGEL HOWARD ©

A teenager was today fighting for life in hospital after a passing doctor gave her emergency treatment at the roadside after she was hit by a car in east London.

The 17-year-old was struck by a silver Volkswagen Golf at a pedestrian crossing opposite Stratford Centre shopping precinct at 9pm last night.

Witnesses told how the doctor rushed to help the girl after she suffered serious head injuries.

A 30-year-old witness said: “The girl was on the crossing and was hit by the silver car.

“I heard a scream and came to see what happened and saw a teenager lying in the road. There was a doctor, who was passing, and was the first to stop and help. He said he didn’t have his kitbag with him. But he did his best to help her.

“The doctor said she had suffered a brain injury. The girl was tiny and in a really bad way. Her face was swollen and she was just lying in the road. Her eyes were hardly open and she wasn’t breathing very well.”

A crowd of more than 50 people gathered at the scene as paramedics rushed her to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel where she underwent neurological scans with her family at her bedside.

Stratford Broadway was closed for more than three hours as investigators carried out forensic and mechanical tests on the car, while more than a dozen bus routes were diverted.

Van driver Paul Morris, 38, said the girl was crossing the road at the same time as three other pedestrians when she was hit.

He said: “She was three quarters of the way across when the car hit her.

“The car was going fast, but not excessively.

“The other people jumped back and got out of the way but the girl was hit by the passenger side. The window was smashed up and there was a dent on the front bumper. I saw police doing braking tests on the car too. The girl was in a bad way and there was a lot of blood on the floor.”

Shaar Ahmed, 22, from Tower Hill, was on the number 25 bus nearby when the accident happened.

Met Police said the driver of the car stopped at the scene and was not arrested.

A spokesman said: “Police in Newham were called to Stratford Broadway junction with West Ham Lane, Stratford at 8.58pm on Monday following reports of a road traffic collision.

“Officers attended and found a teenage female pedestrian suffering from critical injuries following a serious collision with a car.

“The teenager was taken by London Ambulance Service to an East London hospital in a critical condition. Next-of-kin have been informed and were taken to hospital by police.”

Witnesses to the collision should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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