Youths throwing eggs cause crash in Darlington

8:00am Thursday 24th May 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Gavin Engelbrecht

Crash scene, Grange Road, Darlington. Picture by Andy Walker Crash scene, Grange Road, Darlington. Picture by Andy Walker

THIS is the dramatic moment a pensioner was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after a rush-hour accident caused by yobs throwing eggs.

The 72-year-old woman was struck by a blue Ford Focus as she crossed Blackwell Lane near the junction with Grange Road, Darlington, at about 4.15pm yesterday.

Police said a 36-year-old mother, who was driving the vehicle, had been distracted by eggs thrown from a red Vauxhall Corsa containing four youths.

Her car struck the pensioner, who had reached the middle of the road.

Police last night appealed for information from members of the public in their bid to trace the youths, who left the scene without stopping.

The pensioner was airlifted to the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, with serious head and arm injuries.

The shocked driver of the Ford Focus, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with her 11-year-old son, who was a passenger, for a precautionary check.

Acting Inspector Andy Reeves said: “The Ford Focus was driven north along the A167 Grange Road.

“Just before the accident the car was pelted by eggs from a passing red Vauxhall Corsa containing four male youths.

“The car has then veered towards Blackwell Lane where it collided with the 72-year-old pedestrian, who was half-way across the road.”

Acting Insp Reeves condemned the actions of the youths, saying: “Incidents of this sort have the potential to be significantly dangerous to other road users.

“This accident is an example of that. We will deal with any offenders appropriately.”

The pensioner, who is understood to be from the Skerne Park area of Darlington, was last night in a stable condition in hospital.

The road was blocked in both directions, with diversions in place, while investigations were carried out at the scene.

Dozens of onlookers came out of homes and businesses to watch the air ambulance land in the road.

Jane Peacock, lead paramedic for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, said the landing was complicated, as it was in a built-up area.”

Anyone with information is asked to to contact the police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.

Comments(23)

tabby67 says...
7:18am Thu 24 May 12

This town is getting worse all these scummy people are spoiling what used to be a nice town :( I hope they catch the youths and come down hard on them

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concerned for darlo says...
7:50am Thu 24 May 12

Someone knows who these yobs are and where the car is,time to give them up,so then they can be locked up,just sums up some of the scum running around at the moment

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Colcat says...
12:23pm Thu 24 May 12

"We will deal with any offenders appropriately.”
This probably means a caution, just like was given to the yobs that were caught throwing stones at cars (and hitting them) from the bridges over the A174 in Middlesbrough.
.
I have to say, that looks an amazing piece of flying by the pilot to land that helicopter in the road. Well done that person.

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mjchecks says...
12:27pm Thu 24 May 12

Well what a shock this has happened NOT!!!!
There seems to be no policing of the roads around town these days. It is only a matter of time before this happens again, especially on Yarm Road. Saturday night is a nightmare there, scumbags in vans just seem to get away with whatever they want do do. Come on police, start clamping down on these morons!!!

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DP20 says...
1:05pm Thu 24 May 12

Totally agree, you never see many police around the town lately, and they certainly avoid Yarm Road and other areas, letting the vans cut ppl up, under age driving, the whole town is becoming a joke, outside the dole office yesterday about 30 young ppl all drinking special brew, is that what benefits are for is this why I pay tax, its becoming know as a scum town and I was born and bred here

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Ali73JF says...
1:35pm Thu 24 May 12

The same thing happened to me when I was driving through West Auckland. A group of lads chucked eggs at my windscreen but at the time I didn't really know what had happened. Automatic instincts as I couldn't see out, I put my wipers on. Big mistake! I was left with no vision at all & had to just brake. I was lucky that time as no other cars were about, but "pranks" like this are dangerous!

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Lawman3 says...
4:04pm Thu 24 May 12

Darlington is not a "scum" town. Thankfully, incidents like this are rare.

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Homshaw1 says...
4:22pm Thu 24 May 12

Lawman3 wrote:
Darlington is not a "scum" town. Thankfully, incidents like this are rare.
You are entitled to your opinion but I don't agree.

There is too much anti-social behaviour and it is getting worse.

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elk2989 says...
4:47pm Thu 24 May 12

My car was egged a few years ago coming up Longfield Road. However, not a minor incident as I have two children with an anaphylactic reaction to egg. The whole car had to be scrubbed down before my children could even touch the car, a small piece of eggshell left on the car could potentially have been fatal.

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Spy Boy says...
5:25pm Thu 24 May 12

It can't be hard tracking down one red Corsa. Simple deduction surely.

Due to government cuts, there will be a shortage of police about. Even less over the next couple of years.

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Unbelieveable says...
5:57pm Thu 24 May 12

Or use the cctv available, oh silly me thats been cut by DBC so maybe no use at all.
Somebody will know who did this after all im sure the youths will brag about it.

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Lancelot says...
7:08pm Thu 24 May 12

Spy Boy seems to forget it was the last Government who introduced so much paper work that 80% of the police are indoors passing bits of paper around instead of patrolling the streets. These days you get 10 points if you spot a polieman!

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doddy2010 says...
8:08pm Thu 24 May 12

Drugs, Drink, Dole and Delinquecy.

All our hard earned taxes funding lazy layabout parents, spawning lazy layabout kids.

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concerned for darlo says...
8:18pm Thu 24 May 12

Homshaw1 wrote:
Lawman3 wrote:
Darlington is not a "scum" town. Thankfully, incidents like this are rare.
You are entitled to your opinion but I don't agree.

There is too much anti-social behaviour and it is getting worse.
Anyone who thinks incidents like this are rare is either kidding themselves or dont get out much,the town is been taken over by scum like this and the yarm road van brigade and then when the clans are not in the vans they move to the rangerovers and white audi,s and mercs,i am sure all these under 21,s in a lot of cases are insured with well earned money that tax has been paid on,£60k motors and if they could even get a quote £20k insurance and only worked for 12 months....well done,hope they tell the rest of the good working people how they do it,but in the meantime how about the police and taxman asking them the little secret.

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Idontknowaboutyoubut says...
8:22pm Thu 24 May 12

Unfortunately,moroni
c behavior such as this is not the personal domain of Darlo.
You will find worst examples than this,and God knows this is BAD.
This poor woman could have died, but somehow I dont think these yobs would lose a wink of sleep over it.
I have seen the likes of them in action,and note the lack of remorse.It is endemic.
As for the lack of policing,how STUPID,to blame the last Government for the swingeing cuts inflicted on all of us,by the Coalition!!

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Lancelot says...
8:41pm Thu 24 May 12

We all have to pay for the fact that Labour spent all that was in the kitty, from the previous Government, and could have been used to prop us up. They were warned three times about the bankers and decided to ignore the warnings. We now have to make the police more efficient, get rid of reams of paper work, and get some of the 80% of those doing paper work back on the streets. There is no choice about making cuts. We were dropped in the dung and now have to get out of it. People forget that Labour were going to make the same cuts if they got into power, but luckily they didn't. It’s the second time that they’ve stuffed up the country while in power.

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xxenglish-rosexx says...
9:38pm Thu 24 May 12

Hope the women makes a full recovery-And it's awful to think my lil boy will be growing up in a horrible society like this- towns full of pure and utter scum! They Wouldn't like it if the shoe were on the other foot an it were one of there family members ....IDIOTS

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Longbowman666 says...
10:05pm Thu 24 May 12

This incident and its aftermath have nothing to do with policing, govt cuts or anything else of that nature.

What it does have to do with is people whose personal moral standards are as low as you can get, who think that the phrase 'we woz only 'avin a laugh, like' excuses them from any responsibility. Call them what you like, feckless, irresponsible, stupid - all amounts to the same thing in the end - the lazy, useless dross that successive generations of don't care parents whose only reason for having kids (that they pop out like rabbits) in the first place was to 'get money from the social'

What we are doing now is paying the price of those 'parents' who have in turn bred these louts and turned them into carbon copies of their fag-smoking, lager guzzling, lazy, benefit dependent, good-for-nothing selves.

Bring back the stocks, and pelt them with eggs - wonder who'd be laughing then?

Oxygen thieves, the lot of them!

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Sickofthisplace says...
10:54pm Fri 25 May 12

I called the police last night to report yobs throwing water bombs at drivers with windows down on Yarm Road. You would think after the incident on Grange Road they would have been eager to respond but they weren't interested. It seems a blind eye is turned to the Eastbourne area, they don't think about the people that have to live with the hassle and behaviour day in and day out!

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Lancelot says...
11:14pm Fri 25 May 12

Sickofthisplace - I suggest a strongly worded letter of complaint addressed to The Chief Constable. It can work wonders as an investigation into the handling of the call to the Police will be established. Go for it!.

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Homshaw1 says...
11:34pm Fri 25 May 12

I have twice made calls to the police and had cause to follow it up only to find they had no record of the original call.

It's no wonder they say crime is falling. They simply don't record it properly.

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Spy Boy says...
7:49pm Sun 27 May 12

Lancelot wrote:
Spy Boy seems to forget it was the last Government who introduced so much paper work that 80% of the police are indoors passing bits of paper around instead of patrolling the streets. These days you get 10 points if you spot a polieman!
I didn't mention who was to blame. Paperwork is one thing that can be handled by non-frontline Police personnel. They were the first to go in the cuts and the ones that are left will be gone soon. Current government cuts are going to make sure that actual Police numbers are cut this time.

I've seen quite a lot of Policemen and women lately. Where do I collect my points ?

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Lancelot says...
7:53pm Sun 27 May 12

Spy Boy You obviuosly don't live in Middlesbrough. Maybe they only come out at night!

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