Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
Pregnant pause as mum’s motor careers down hill
AHEAVILY pregnant mum thought she was suffering from ‘baby brain’ when her car disappeared from outside her house – until she discovered the handbrake on her Vauxhall Corsa had failed and her car had rolled nearly 200ft, ending up hanging over a garden wall.
Now shocked Chelsea Endacott from Paignton is fuming because her £12,500 car is wrecked and she believes she may be the latest victim of an issue with the Vauxhall Corsa D Model car manufactured between 2007 and 2013.
Chelsea, 26, is 31 weeks pregnant and had left her car outside her house at 48 Elsdale Road. It rolled backwards down the hill, veered off to the left, hit a parked car, demolished a wall and ended up in the garden of another house in Elsdale Road – nearly 200ft away – balancing on top of the low wall.
Fuming Chelsea said: “What if it happened after my baby’s born? I was so shaken up afterwards that I felt completely out of touch with reality.”
Chelsea said she had briefly left her car outside her house and run indoors, car keys in hand. When she came back and the car was gone her first thought was that she was hallucinating.
“I’m 31 weeks pregnant and I wondered if it was some kind of symptom of pregnancy. I thought ‘Am I going crazy?’ and wondered if it was baby brain.
“I went and woke my partner up and we were looking out of the window and we noticed there were lots of people gathering at the bottom of the hill.
“The people in number 19 were unloading their shopping – they could have been hit by my car.
“I was completely shaken up. I felt as if I had kind of lost touch with reality. I just couldn’t get my head around what was going on.”
Now Chelsea is asking why she wasn’t included when Vauxhall sent out letters to customers earlier this year asking them to have their handbrakes checked.
The letters stated that if the handbrake had not been applied correctly, it’s possible it could partially release. The issue affects the Corsa D Model (Year 2007 to 2013).
Chelsea said: “I bought my Corsa D brand new in 2014 – but it was manufactured in 2013. I have asked Vauxhall why I didn’t receive the letter.
“My car handbrake was on – the recovery guy confirmed it was on, but even when he put it on the recovery vehicle it wasn’t working properly.”
A letter sent to customers earlier this year reads: “Vauxhall have reviewed a number of Corsa Model D Year 2007-2013 handbrake mechanisms and found that if the handbrake is incorrectly applied by depressing the release button during the application it is possible the handbrake may partially release.
“Vauxhall advises that when parking your vehicle on a slope, customers should apply the handbrake and engage a gear in line with the recommendations referenced in the owner’s manual.
“Vauxhall is introducing, as a customer satisfaction programme, a modification to the handbrake mechanism to reduce the possibility of incorrectly setting the handbrake.”
Chelsea said: “My car might be written off – it doesn’t look that bad but there is a lot of damage underneath. It’s a nightmare.
“My car is the same model and year as the one the letters were sent out about. I didn’t receive that letter and I only found out when I Googled handbrake failure and found that a similar thing had happened to a girl in Plymouth.
“I have contacted Vauxhall and am waiting to hear back.”
Vauxhall UK has been contacted for a comment.