‘SHEER LUCK NO-ONE WAS KILLED’
Dad and son in lucky escape after boy, 7, hurls brick at car from bridge to ‘entertain his pals’
POLICE CONDEMN SCHOOLBOY’S ACTIONS:
A dad and son were lucky to escape with their lives when a boy aged just seven threw a brick at their car from a footbridge to “entertain his friends.”
Northumbria Police say the 30-year-old driver and five-year-old child could have been left with catastrophic injuries if the stone had smashed through the windscreen of the vehicle when it was struck from the footbridge on the A182 Washington Highway.
The lad was with pals after school on Tuesday, February 4, with the brick narrowly missing the back seat youngster, while the car – which had been travelling at 60mph – was forced to swerve suddenly before the driver was able to stop.
An investigation found the boy had thrown the brick “to entertain his friends.”
Officers have since sat down with him and his parents at their Shiney Row home to spell out the seriousness of his actions and attended schools nearby to warn others of the danger.
The age of criminality in the UK is 10 years old so police could not bring forward a criminal prosecution, with a stern warning seemed appropriate considering the boy’s age.
“It was frightening,” the driver said.
“I’d just finished work and picked my lad up from school when all of a sudden we heard an almighty crash with glass flying everywhere.
“Thankfully, no other cars were in the other lanes as I swerved, and when looking in my rear view mirror I could see a group of children running off the bridge.
“This could have resulted in serious injury, or much worse, and I hope other children and their parents read this and learn the lesson.
“This type of thing isn’t a game – it could be deadly.”
Inspector Nick Gjorven condemned the schoolboy’s actions and said he could have easily killed somebody.
He said: “This young lad may have been acting up in front of his friends shortly after school had finished and thought it would be clever to throw a brick off the bridge down onto the road.
“What he failed to consider was the potentially fatal consequences that his actions could have caused – frankly, it is sheer luck that nobody was killed.
“It quite easily could have come through the wind screen and caused catastrophic injuries to all inside the car.
“By throwing the brick, the boy did not only endanger the lives of those in the vehicle that it collided with, but every other road user who was in that area at the time.
“We have since identified the boy responsible and sat down with him and his family, along with their housing provider.
“He apologised for his actionsstraight away and knows what he did was wrong.
“We will always look to deal with anybody responsible robustly – and ordinarily this type of behaviour would result in criminal prosecution.
“I would also ask all parents of children who live in easy travelling distance of a motorway or major roads to remind their loved ones that this type of activity is incredibly dangerous and can have fatal consequences.”