Horror as boy, 2, is trapped by car that ploughs into nursery school playground

A woman who smashed her car through a fence and into a nursery playground where 22 children were playing, injuring three of them, has walked free from court.

Jayne James, 63, also pinned a two-year-old boy between her front wheel and a brick wall as she crashed her grey Omoda people carrier into the Ellesmere Port nursery during school drop-off time on 16 June.

The boy was pulled from under the car by a member of staff and rushed to hospital along with the two other young children who were injured by flying debris.

He suffered a considerable friction burn on his torso which police believed to be from the still-moving wheel he was trapped under.

Cheshire Police said the people carrier had initially pulled into the car park during drop-off time, but had then moved “at pace” through a wooden fence and into the playground before colliding with a brick wall.

James was arrested at the scene and taken into custody, where she told officers during questioning that she had been driving the vehicle at the time of the collision but could not remember any specific details as to how it had happened.

She went on to say that she had been driving the vehicle for a number of months and said 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.

Officers examined the vehicle and found it had no mechanical faults that could have caused or contributed toward the collision.

Police said the 22 two and three-year-olds had been put at “serious risk” as a result of James’ “inability to control her vehicle”, adding they had been left “scared” and with lasting emotional and psychological impacts from the crash.

James, from Great Sutton, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, and was given four months imprisonment suspended for 12 months. She was also banned from driving for two years.

Detective Sergeant Amy Hollis, of Cheshire Police’s 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.”

She added that despite the “distressing nature of the incident,” staff had managed to rush the children to safety, and thanked them and the emergency services for their efforts.

“The outcome could have been very different,” she said. “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.”