A MOTHER says she is terrified of driving with her baby daughter, after a dangerous driver knocked her car off the road when she was pregnant.
Tony Perks, 25, of Tarporley, admitted dangerous driving after video footage shot by other motorists showed him swerving across the A51 for several miles before hitting the woman’s car in Duddon last September.
The 35-year-old woman, from Hoole, was then eight months pregnant and does not wish to be named.
Doctors kept her in hospital for one night after the crash to monitor the baby for signs of distress. Her daughter was born several weeks after the crash.
She said: “My baby is an amazing little girl who means the absolute world to my husband and I, in fact everyone who knows her.
“I can’t begin to describe how much I want to protect her and make her world safe but I remain terrified every time I drive anywhere with my baby.
“I could be the safest driver on the road but her safety to a certain extent is in the hands of every other driver. In my 18 years as a driver, I have never seen anything like this and I hope that I never do again.”
Of the crash, the pharmaceuticals rep recalled: “I was driving home from work along the A51, Duddon towards Chester. I was in a steady stream of traffic travelling at approximately 40mph on a reasonably straight section of road when I noticed a green pick-up truck travelling towards me on the opposite side of the road.
“The truck pulled out quickly as if it was about to overtake the vehicle in front, I was relieved when it pulled back in but literally a moment later when I was almost alongside this vehicle it pulled back out into my lane at an aggressive erratic pace.
“I only had enough time to swerve but it wasn’t enough to stop him from crashing into me. I pulled over, I tried to get out of my door but it was jammed shut so I climbed over the front passenger seat. I was eight months pregnant at the time.
“I spent the night in hospital as I was experiencing lower abdominal pain after the crash and I was in shock and extremely shaken.
“At the hospital they ran some checks and monitored my baby’s heart beat.
“It was a frightening time, my mind kept running over and over the crash and I couldn’t believe what had happened!
“On the way to the hospital I saw a roundabout that the driver had obviously driven straight over, knocking down a directional chevron, I burst out crying when I saw this as I realised that I had been so lucky that the crash hadn’t been worse. The thought of what could have happened was terrifying.”
