Emma Sowerby of Billingham believes that she is lucky to be alive after a freak accident as she waited with a friend to cross the road at a pelican crossing.

Fifteen year old Emma and her friend Jessica Leather, had just pushed the button on the pelican crossing on Marsh House Avenue in Billingham when the driver of a Landrover Freelander lost control of his vehicle and swerved into the post which carries the crossing lights.

Emma said “We waited about two minutes and then this Land Rover looked like it was going to go straight ahead but it was in the wrong lane and suddenly it just swerved and hit the post.

“All I remember was seeing the lights in front of me. I opened my eyes and I was on the floor. My arm was hurting and my jaw and my head”

The post collapsed, striking the back of her head and coming down onto her shoulder, knocking her to the ground.

Jessica said “I was pretty shocked. I rang for an ambulance”.

Both the driver of the vehicle and his female passenger got out to see if Emma was alright and a bystander called Emma’s family to let them know what had happened. Emma was then taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of North Tees but had to wait two days for an appointment at the fracture clinic. Emma received a broken collar bone, a bump on the head, bruised back, black eye and swollen face in the accident.