Hit-and-run victim near Shrewsbury complains to police over compensation claim
A health worker who was victim to a hit-and-run near Shrewsbury has complained to the police, claiming officers have "left her in the dark" while she attempts to seek compensation for more than £10,000 worth of damage.
The three-car smash happened on Church Road in Dorrington at about 3.30pm on Saturday, February 6, and left the owners of a new Mazda with thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The offender, believed to be the driver of a blue Volkswagen, fled the scene before abandoning the vehicle by C G Sadd Butchers alongside the A49, where it was later recovered by police.
The driver of the Mazda, a health worker in her 30s who wished to remain anonymous, had not long made an early return from maternity leave to support the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the county's two acute hospitals, with increased demand due to the pandemic.
Her husband said: "Nobody from the police had got in touch with us since the incident and the insurance wouldn't pay as we couldn't prove it wasn't our fault. We've just been left in the dark.
"She was driving up a country lane when a car smashed through her and hit another car behind – thankfully our newborn wasn't in the car otherwise it could have been a different story.
"I understand we may not be a top priority case right now but we have CCTV and pictures that could help the police, but we just haven't been able to get through to the one person that's apparently dealing with it.
"My wife suffered whiplash and she's in absolute agony at the moment – it's caused mental and physical anguish."
A third vehicle was also involved in the collision and is thought to have suffered minor damage.
Emergency services attended the scene and Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service sent crews from Church Stretton.
Chief Inspector Tracy Ryan, of West Mercia Police, said a single officer is assigned to victims for consistency and that alternating shift patterns can cause delays.
She said: “At about 3.30pm on February 6, we received a report of a collision involving three vehicles in Dorrington.
"No one was injured in the collision, however one vehicle had driven off from the scene.
"Officers attended and dealt with the collision with initial enquiries carried out at the time.
"An investigation is now ongoing with an officer in charge of the collision allocated to carry out further enquiries.
"We always try to ensure the single point of contact for victims is the same officer to ensure consistency, and while we understand the frustration this may cause, it can mean that due to our officers shift pattern and other incidents they are dealing with there may be a slight delay in some of these further enquiries being carried out.
"However, we would like to offer our reassurance we will always prioritise and progress enquiries to gather evidence.”
Police are appealing for information, including any dash cam footage from cars in the area around the time of the incident.
Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident reference number 00408_I of February 6, 2021, or online under the Tell Us About section at westmercia.police.uk
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111 or crimestoppers-uk.org
