Rachel Thorold (36) and her son Louis were just going on a pleasant wheelbarrow ride at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, England, when the accident happened.
A 74-year-old woman in a Mazda 2 collided with another car in the roadway, lost control and drove up the sidewalk at high speed. The car hit both Rachel and Louis.
The five-month-old baby died on the spot.
Rachel hovered for a long time between life and death, and suffered a brain injury and several fractures. She was in a coma for ten days and had to spend a total of 118 days in hospital.
Minneord
The accident happened on January 22 last year, and today the 74-year-old appeared for a hearing in court in Cambridge. She did not take a position on the question of guilt.
COMA: Rachel lay in a coma for ten days. It was uncertain for a long time whether she would survive. Photo: Chris Thorold / SWNS / NTB
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Both Rachel and her husband Chris were present during the hearing, writes BBC.
– You were only with us for a short time. But you made us the happiest people in the world, father Chris wrote in a memoir about his son.
– We can not describe how devastated we are that Louis is gone. You will always have a place in our hearts. And do not be afraid, I take care of your stuffed animals.
– We love you unbelievably much. Sweet dreams.
Lowered speed limit
The accident has received a lot of attention in England and subsequently the father of Louis, the boy’s grandfather and Rachel’s sister has started a campaign for traffic safety in the area.
Experienced the nightmare: – Now I’m done
– We wanted to reduce the speed limit from 50 mph to 30 mph (80 km / h to 48 km / h). It is now set down to 40 mph. And the municipality is in the process of improving the conditions for pedestrians on the site, grandfather Richard has said ITV earlier.
– We continue to work for the speed limit to be further reduced, and for it to be 20 mph in densely populated areas. The city council has in principle decided that the limit will be 20 mph, but we will follow up to ensure that this happens. The goal is that no one will be killed or seriously injured in the traffic here, said the grandfather.
The trial against the 74-year-old begins on March 17.
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