BBC blasted for ‘deeply troubling’ report on mum and toddler’s crash horror

21/12/2023

The BBC has been blasted by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street over its ‘deeply troubling’ report over a horrific collision in Solihull [1]. A mum and her child miraculously escaped suffering serious injuries [2] after a car crashed and flipped into their path in Solihull. The story hit headlines across the country but the Conservative mayor has hit out at the coverage on the BBC [3] News at Six, reports BirminghamLive.[4] In what is normally the ‘light hearted’ and ‘final’ section of the programme, BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth said it was “just incredible” as CCTV footage of the crash was shown.

But Mr Street took to X, formerly known as Twitter [5], to post his anger at the coverage. He said: “Road danger is not a trivial matter. I’ve written with @adamtranter+@RoadPeace to the BBC on how they reported on this recent collision.

This kind of reporting fails to acknowledge the trauma and long-lasting impact collisions have on victims, families and communities.”

What happened to the mum and toddler

The astonishing footage showed the mother and her child – believed to be a two-year-old girl – are just inches away from injury. The car veers off Warwick [6] Road in Olton before hitting a lamppost. It then turns on its side as the mum and her child are on the pavement.

Fortunately, the mum’s quick actions to turn the pushchair away save them from injury. The CCTV footage went on to show the mum clutching her daughter and sitting down on a chair outside a restaurant along the parade of shops. An eyewitness said that they believed the little girl had suffered a broken leg.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) confirmed that the infant and female driver of the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries and both were taken to hospital. The girl’s mum was treated at the scene and discharged. “We were called at 4.11pm on Saturday to a road traffic collision involving a car and two pedestrians on Warwick Road, Solihull,” a WMAS spokeperson said. “Two ambulances and a paramedic officer attended the scene. “Upon arrival, we found a woman and child who were pedestrians and a woman who was the driver of the car.

The driver of the car and the child were assessed and had non-life-threatening injuries. “The driver received treatment from ambulance staff and both were conveyed to Heartlands Hospital for further assessment. A woman who was a pedestrian was assessed and had minor injuries.

She received treatment from ambulance staff and did not require further treatment and was discharged at the scene.” Police were called and a spokesperson for West Midlands Police [7] added: “We attended a collision on Warwick Road, Olton, Solihull [8], where a car hit a lamppost at a zebra crossing. Fortunately, no one was injured, and no arrests were made.”

References

^ Solihull (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ miraculously escaped suffering serious injuries (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ BBC (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ reports BirminghamLive. (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^ Twitter (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ Warwick (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ West Midlands Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ Solihull (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
^ here (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)