Doctor misses vital shift after hit and run ‘idiot’ smashes her parked car
A DOCTOR has been prevented from attending her shift in a major Welsh hospital after her parked car was written off in an early-morning crash.
Hannah Collins is a junior doctor working in the intensive care unit at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.
The 28-year-old was woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Friday morning after a car crashed into several parked vehicles on her street in Roath, Cardiff.
Hannah said she came to her window in time to see the driver get out of the vehicle and run off.
Her black Suzuki Swift, which she relies upon to get to critical shifts at the hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been damaged beyond repair.
She said she was unable to get to the hospital for her shift on Friday.
“I got woken up at half one or quarter to two in the morning,” Hannah said.
“I saw a silver BMW had crashed into the back of my car and then a man got out of the BMW and ran off.
“My neighbour chased him but didn’t manage to catch up.”
Hannah said the car appeared to have taken the bend into Claude Road too quickly before smashing into her car.
Several other cars on the street were also damaged in the incident.
“He’s gone at a hell of a speed because he’s damaged six cars,” she said.
“I think six were written off. What an idiot.”
Hannah said she had to inform her team she would be unable to make it into work on Friday morning.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which runs the Royal Gwent Hospital, have been dealing with the highest number of positive Covid-19 cases in Wales.
“I had to text my team last night because I cannot get into work,” Hannah said.
“All the senior doctors are there and they have the situation fairly in hand but it’s just frustrating because we need all hands on deck.”
Hannah said her insurance company has provided a free courtesy car and was pleased the company reacted promptly due to her key worker status.
“I’m just a bit overwhelmed at the moment,” she said.
“I am moving house. I’m moving in with my boyfriend who is also a doctor. We are now on our emergency rota.”
A South Wales Police spokeswoman said enquiries are ongoing to identify and arrest the driver.
“A number of vehicles were damaged in Claude Road just after 1.30am this morning,” she said.
“Witnesses described a grey BMW being driven at speeding, colliding with car in the streets and the male driver then running off in the direction of Albany Road.
“Enquiries are ongoing to identify and arrest the driver.”
Anyone with information, who has not yet spoken to police, is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting occurrence *0111779.