Hit-and-run turns lives of family ‘upside down’
THE family of a man left for dead after a hitand-run accident say their lives “have been turned upside down” after the crash.
Father-of-two Martin Wolstenholme was cycling home from work on November 25 when he was reportedly hit by a van and left with severe injuries in a ditch.
A member of the public found the 51-yearold at the side of Westbrecks Lane, South Leverton, after the incident, which is believed to have happened between 4.45pm and 5pm.
Martin’s family have now issued a desperate plea to the driver of the vehicle to come forward, as Martin remains in hospital in the critical care unit.
“The past week has turned our family’s lives upside down,” his wife Carol Wolstenholme said.
“Our family is missing a husband, father and grandfather and are hoping and praying for Martin to recover and come home.
“Martin has gone from being a very fit and healthy man to sustaining severe life-changing injuries and needing round-the-clock care from the trauma team in a critical care unit.
“The van that hit him lost his wing mirror and the glass from the driver’s side window in the impact, so without question the driver would have known they had hit him.
“Despite this, they drove away and left Martin cold and alone and in need of urgent medical attention.”
And she added: “If it wasn’t for a quickthinking cyclist – who I’m calling our good Samaritan for whom we are eternally grateful and who found Martin by chance and phoned the emergency services – he would have certainly died.
“As a family we find someone who knowingly could do this to another person and leave them in these circumstances inconceivable.
“There is someone out there who knows what happened that evening and we ask that they examine their conscience and think about how they would feel if this had happened to a friend or family member.
“I am so grateful for the prayers, love and support from our family and friends and it’s been fantastic to know that churches and many people around the country are praying for him too.
“If anyone has any information at all we implore them to get in touch with Nottinghamshire Police.”
Police are also urging people to check any CCTV and dash-cam footage from the area taken between the hours of 4pm and 5pm. They are looking for a white long wheelbase van, possibly a Citroen, Peugeot or Fiat van, with a missing driver’s side window and wing mirror.
Officers are appealing for anyone who has seen a damaged van travelling around the South Leverton area to come forward to help with their investigation.
Sergeant Sarah Stables, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Martin was seriously injured during this incident and he remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital and we are continuing to support his family through this tough time.
“It is every road user’s responsibility if they are involved in an accident to stop and report it to the emergency services. “I would like to thank the extremely kind member of the public who stopped and reported this incident to us and called 999, meaning we could get to Martin and ensure he was taken to hospital as soon as possible. “We are still appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this incident or knows anything to come forward and get in touch with us urgently as it may help our investigations.” Anyone with any information or dash-cam footage is urged to call 101, quoting incident 544 of November 25, 2021, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
HEARTBROKEN WIFE’S PLEA FOR WITNESSES TO COME FORWARD
They left Martin cold and alone and in need of urgent medical attention
Carol Wolstenholme