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Scunthorpe mum seeking justice after teenage son suffers bleed on the brain and fractured skull in ‘hit and run’

A Scunthorpe mum said she is seeking “justice” after her teenage son suffered a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull after being hit by a car on his way home from school – with police appealing for the woman driving the car to come forward.

At around 1.30pm on Friday afternoon, Oliver ‘Ollie’ Castell, 14, had left school for the day and was crossing Doncaster Road when he was hit by a car on his left side, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head. The driver stopped briefly, but then drove on.

Ollie’s worried mum Jemma – who has had to leave her other four children behind to temporarily move 45 miles away to be with her poorly son at Sheffield Children’s Hospital – said she wouldn’t wish the situation on any parent.

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Speaking to Scunthorpe Live, Jemma said: “A group of lads were running after Ollie when it happened. He ran across one road absolutely safely, there were no cars or anything, then he ran across another road and got hit by this car. It hit him on his left side and he fell to the ground and hit his head. With the shock and adrenaline of it he got up and ran to where his friend was. The driver stopped, must have seen she hit him, and then drove off.

“We live 30 seconds away from where it happened on Doncaster Road, and I got a phone call from Ollie saying, ‘Mum, I’m hurt, I’ve been hit by a car, it’s bad’. I flew out my door and his friend had brought him to our drive. He was bleeding profusely from his wound, so we got straight in the car and drove to Scunthorpe A&E round the corner.”



Ollie was bleeding profusely from his wound

Ollie underwent X-rays and CT scans at Scunthorpe General Hospital, which revealed he suffered a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull. Because the fracture resulted in a “hole” between his nasal cavity and brain, he also had to be administered vaccines due to the risk of infection or disease.

The following day, Ollie began leaking brain fluid out of his nose, and was transferred via ambulance to Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Jemma continued: “It’s all been a bit of a shock to the system. He’s got stitches but they will take a good while to heal. His eye is swollen shut, and he has to stay laid down because his nose is leaking brain fluid. Doctors are hoping that if he stays laid down long enough, the fluid will stop leaking. He can only sit up if he wants to have something to eat or go to the toilet, other than that he’s laid down.

“He’s going to need some other investigations done just to make sure he’s OK and he’s healing how he should be. We’re not sure if he’s done some damage to his right knee, because whenever he moves it he’s in an incredible amount of pain with it, so the doctors are doing another X-ray. It’s just a waiting game.

“He could be home tomorrow if the leaking plugs itself, or he could be home later on this week. We’re just having to wait and see now. It’s very difficult when you’ve got a child with major trauma, because they’re not sure how he’s going to be from one day to the next.”



The driver of the car who hit Ollie ‘drove off’ after the incident

Jemma said the entire incident has caused trauma not only for Ollie, but for the entire family – who are doing everything they can to find the driver of the car.

“As much as I just want to concentrate on getting Ollie better, I also need justice for it because she hit my child, she hurt my child and knew it, and drove off,” she said.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, especially getting that phone call. That’s not going to leave me, that’s always going to be in my head. Being told that she just drove off has made me so angry. She was a woman, we’re supposed to be maternal, and she knew he was a child because he was in school uniform. I just can’t comprehend it.

“We feel like we’re not doing enough almost, to find this person, but we also know we can’t do anything other than what we are doing, which is trying to get Ollie better and keeping our other children safe at home and them occupied. This is not just a huge major trauma to Oliver, this is a major trauma to the whole family.



He was transferred from Scunthorpe to Sheffield via ambulance

“I’ve also got four other children and three of them have autism. They need me, and mummy’s not there. I’m staying in Sheffield, I don’t drive, and I can’t leave Ollie. Even at nighttime I’m sat with him and watching his obs machine. If I go to sleep and his obs machine starts beeping, I’m awake.

“But his memory hasn’t been affected, he can still remember everything. And he’s still a typical teenage boy who laughs at silly jokes.”

Humberside Police are appealing for the driver of the car – or anyone with any information – to come forward.

A spokesperson said: “Investigations are underway following reports of a collision on Doncaster Road, Scunthorpe on Friday 2 February. The incident occurred at around 1.30pm when a white coloured car reportedly collided with a pedestrian.

“The pedestrian, a 14-year-old boy, was taken to hospital following the collision for treatment to head injuries, that are thought to be serious but not life threatening.

“The driver of the car failed to stop at the scene of the incident, and we are appealing to her or anyone with information to come forward.

“If this was you, or you have any information that may assist our enquiries, please call our non-emergency 101 line quoting log 215 of 2 February. Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

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