Mother warns of danger of using earphones on street

A MOTHER has shared a photograph of her son’s bloodied headphones to highlight the danger of wearing noise cancelling devices while out walking.

Harrison Ellis, 16, was listening to music while walking to meet friends when he stepped into a road, “totally unaware” of oncoming traffic.

He was hit by a car and sustained injuries all over his body – including a three-inch hole in his head which went all the way to the bone.

The teenager suffered extensive injuries to his elbow, wrist, shoulder, face and head, and was placed in intensive care following the accident in Lake, Isle of Wight, on June 25.

Harrison’s family said he was lucky to be alive and have urged people not to wear earphones while walking so they can pay attention to their surroundings.

His mother, teacher Linzy Ellis, 43, said she and her carer husband Peter, 45, feared the worst as they dashed to hospital to see him lying in a critical condition.

And she urged earphones users to put earphones and smartphones away when walking around. “In an ideal world people will put their phones away when they are out and about, especially walking or crossing a road. I can appreciate how useful they are but all it takes is a split second of being distracted.

“Harrison was so invested in a text message and his music and he had no awareness in what he was doing – and he’s not a silly boy, either, he is sensible.

“It doesn’t take much to lose focus. If this can stop one person from getting in an accident then it’s all worthwhile.”

She added: “Now the parting line when Harrison or anyone in the family leaves the house is ‘I love you – no headphones!’”

Explaining her decision to release the pictures of her son in hospital and his bloodied headphones, she said: “What I hope to achieve is for people to be more aware of what’s around them. For people to start maybe using headphones that go above the ear, so they can still hear environmental sounds.

“Phones should be firmly away when walking, as when driving. I urge people to think: headphones off, phones away.”

Isle of Wight Police confirmed the driver was not at fault and had been driving within the speed limit.

A police spokesman said: “Pedestrians are equally responsible for following the Highway Code, and this is a plea to all teenagers to not use mobiles or headphones while crossing the road.”