Teenager ‘lucky to be alive’ after Arreton collision

By Richard Wright

Friday, February 5, 2010

CALLS were renewed for a pedestrian crossing at Main Road, Arreton, after a 14-year-old girl was badly injured in a collision with a van on Wednesday.

The Carisbrooke High School pupil was at first thought to have suffered serious head injuries but doctors later confirmed she had sustained cuts and severe bruising and a broken leg.

Police said the Ford Transit flatbed van was being driven from Newport towards Sandown when the collision took place at 8.30am close to the White Lion public house.

A police spokesman said: "The transit was being driven by a 47-year-old man. No criminal offences were identified."

The girl’s father said: "Traffic was extremely heavy and it would appear my daughter was waiting for ten minutes or so for an opportunity to cross the road and may have stumbled in front of the van.

"The damage to the front of the van and the broken windscreen where her head hit shows just how lucky she is to be alive.

"This shows the desperate need for a crossing here."

Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk