Kentish Express Ashford & District
Campaigner demands safety action after boy is hit by car
‘EXCUSES’
A 12-year-old boy was lucky to escape with minor injuries after he was hit by a car in Kennington as he walked to catch the school bus.
And now a road campaigner who almost died at the same spot nearly 20 years ago is demanding action to improve safety.
Police and ambulance crews rushed to Canterbury Road at 7.48am on Tuesday after reports of a collision between a pedestrian and a car.
Olli Hollis, a pupil at Swadelands, in Lenham, was taken to the William Harvey Hospital after his foot was fractured in two places.
Claire Gordie, Olli’s mum who lives in Little Burton, said: “He was walking with his friend to get the bus and the next thing I know his friend Jack called me and said ‘Claire, come quick, Olli’s been hit by a car’.
“I drove straight up there and the lady in the car behind was already on the phone to the ambulance.
“Olli was very shaken but I could see he was okay and not seriously injured.
“He went off to hospital in the ambulance and was checked over for a few hours.
“But when he got up to leave a few hours later, he collapsed.
“We think it was just the head after lying down in hospital all day, but they kept him in for the rest of the day.
“He is going to have to have his leg in one of those large plastic boots for a week.
“He is so lucky that it is just his foot, it could have been much, much worse.
Ted Prangnell, who lives nearby, has been campaign- ing for a safe crossing on the busy road for years after he was nearly killed in the exact same spot.
More than 20 years later and despite promises from councillors, Mr Prangnell said the road is still a huge danger for pedestrians and cyclists.
He said: “I was hit by a car and I was knocked down in 1993. I was nearly killed, it was touch and go for a while.
“I spent three months in the William Harvey Hospital and I nearly lost my leg.
“The accident was so bad the police called it a fatal. They thought I would die. So for me, this is quite an emotional issue.
“It took me years to get back on my feet properly and stop walking with a stick.
My next door neighbour calls me miracle man.
“Children ride their bikes on the pavement and I don’t blame them because the cars go so fas but the pavement is so narrow and only on one side so you only need one slip for danger.
“It’s just an accident wait- Mr Prangnell said plans to add another pavement to the other side of the road were announced years ago but never materialised.
He added: “It would be for the benefit and safety of everyone to make that road safer.
“This is a route to school, and to where school buses drop off children. It should at least be safe.
“Very elderly people need to cross this road to catch a bus, as do parents with young children, don’t they have rights?
“Few drivers observe the speed limit.
“Requests for repeat 30mph signs have always been declined. Why?
“Please can the authorities stop making excuses, and take some positive action for change.” ing to happen on a road where children and elderly people cross.”
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