Do the right thing — hand yourself in, City worker tells driver who left her for dead
A CITY worker who was left seriously injured in the road after a suspected hit and run today issued this shocking picture and begged the driver: “Do the right thing — hand yourself in.”
Sarah Bermingham, 28, who cofounded the gymnastics team for St Mary’s University in Twickenham, was told by doctors that it was a miracle she escaped paralysis after the crash which also put her best friend in hospital.
Today, she said: “I don’t deserve this and my family don’t deserve to see me like this. I can only hope the driver does the right thing and comes forward.”
The health consultant, who played hockey for Irish club Leinster as a teenager, was celebrating friend Fiona Mateer’s 28th birthday at the Grand Union pub in Wandsworth High Street on Sunday, March 12.
The former schoolfriends, who live in Sutton, briefly returned to the pub to fetch their coats before crossing the road to meet friends at a takeaway at 1am when they were involved in the collision which threw them into the air and left Ms Bermingham crushed under the car’s front wheels.
Police are hunting the driver of the dark-coloured car, which sped off along Wandsworth Plain, leaving both women lying bleeding in the road.
Ms Bermingham said: “I remember hearing screams and trying to convince myself that the hit wasn’t as bad as it was. I was concerned for Fiona, but couldn’t register what was going on — the amount of chaos and how much blood was forming around me.”
Ms Mateer, who suffered minor injuries, said: “All I remember is stepping out on to the road and everyone behind us screaming. By that point there was nothing I could do, I couldn’t react quickly enough. I thought Sarah had died — there was so much blood.”
Passers-by stopped oncoming traffic as they gave the women first aid in the road. Ms Bermingham remains in a south London trauma ward after undergoing major head surgery in intensive care. Scans showed two breaks in her vertebrae narrowly missed her spinal cord. She also suffered bruising on her brain, a punctured lung and liver damage.
Doctors were surprised that she managed to survive her critical injuries and told her family that her fitness and health had contributed to her recovery. Ms Bermingham said: “The driver must have been shocked and panicked and that’s why they drove off, but this has been the most challenging time of my life, emotionally and physically.
“I still have a long road ahead of me. Everyone has been telling me how brave I am, but I haven’t got a choice, I have to take every day as it comes. Maybe the driver has a daughter and, if the shoe was on the other foot, maybe they would want someone to be held accountable, or at least know who they are.”
A Met spokesman said: “The collision occurred outside the Grand Union pub and may have been witnessed by a number of people who were leaving.”
Anyone with information should contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8543 5157 or via Twitter on @MetCC.