Teenager in stolen van ‘ran over boy, 3’
A TEENAGER who left a young boy fighting for his life after running him over in a stolen van told police, “I was going to hand myself in after watching
a court has heard. The youth, aged 16, who cannot be named because of his age, was arrested at his home by police hours after crashing into threeyear-old Leo Durrington.
He was in a Ford Transit van being pursued by police when he lost control on a bend in Leigh, Greater Manchester, at around 10.35am on Tuesday.
Leo was “ripped from his mum’s hands”, police said, and thrown 55ft across a pub car park.
He was put in an induced coma and it is suspected he may have a “significant” brain injury.
The driver admitted at Wigan Youth Court to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He welled up with tears and kept his head down, mumbling his guilty pleas to the court.
He was already accused of separate motoring offences before the van incident.
The court heard magistrates had to grant him bail, by law, until he is sentenced later this month.
A second youth, aged 15, was also bailed after pleading guilty to being carried in the stolen vehicle.
Both youths were bailed on condition they do not contact each other.
Both will be sentenced on November 15 at Wigan Youth Court, where the maximum sentence the 16-year-old can face is two years’ detention.