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‘He steered the car towards us and came at me’: Girl, 10, and father lucky to be alive after Aylesbury hit and run
Mark and Boe Catton at their Aylesbury home and, below, Acting Inspector Simon Hills at the scene of the hit and run
A father who was carrying his 10-year-old daughter when they were mown down by a hit and run driver says they are lucky to be alive.
Mark Catton claims the driver of a black Audi sped up and swerved towards him and his daughter Boe as they crossed the Wendover Road in a 30mph zone.
Mr Catton suffered a fracture in his leg while Boe had to have an operation for the leg injuries she received.
The incident happened shortly after midnight on Sunday as they were walking home from a family party.
Mr Catton says it could easily have been worse, not just for him and Boe, but because his wife and three other children, along with four other kids, were nearby as they crossed Eascote Road.
He said: “There was a car coming from the Stoke Mandeville direction but there was loads of time for us to get across.
“As we were crossing from the central reservation I heard my wife shout and I turned round and he was only a few metres away.
“He was going so fast and as I looked round he steered the car towards us and came at me.
“I don’t know what he was thinking, whether he wanted to hit us or just scare us.
“There’s no way you couldn’t have seen that there were that many people near the road and that I had a kid on my back.
“There was nothing I could do. I felt the impact and we both went flying.
“The first thing that went through my mind was fear because I did not know if Boe was dead or alive.”
The car that hit them sped off without stopping and after emergency services were called Mr Catton and Boe were rushed to hospital.
They have both since returned home to recover. Boe will be off school for two weeks but Mr Catton, who is a self employed electrician and builder, faces up to three months off work. As the family’s only source of income he is worried things will get tight.
Mr Catton said the driver must take responsibility for what they had done.
He said: “I understand they’re going to be scared but to disappear like that knowing there could have been two people killed in the road is pretty shallow.”
Boe said: “They should have helped us. They should not have turned our way in the first place.”
Mr Catton’s wife, Holly, was just behind them when they were hit. She said: “I saw him speed up and veer into Mark. I didn’t know if they were dead or alive.
“There is nothing worse for a mother than seeing your child and husband go flying like that. They could have wiped my family out.”
Police have appealed to anyone who has seen a damaged Audi A3 or A4 to come forward. Acting inspector Simon Hills said the car may have been taken to a repair shop and called on people to look out for it.
He said: “This collision sounds like it could have been avoided but I would stop short of saying it was deliberate. If you are the driver of that vehicle come and see us before we come and see you.”
Contact police with information by calling 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Weather for Thame
Tuesday 21 May 2013
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Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 15 C
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