A HORRIFIC accident that left a teenage girl with permanent brain damage could have been prevented if she had only worn a seat belt.Dayle Harper, 14, of Downside Close, Ipswich and her friend, Astra Talbot, 18, were being driven home by Wayne Swarbrick, of Brickfield Close, Ipswich on September 21 of last year.

A HORRIFIC accident that left a teenage girl with permanent brain damage could have been prevented if she had only worn a seat belt.

Dayle Harper, 14, of Downside Close, Ipswich and her friend, Astra Talbot, 18, were being driven home by Wayne Swarbrick, of Brickfield Close, Ipswich on September 21 of last year.

The two girls were travelling in the back of Swarbrick's Ford Mondeo Car as he reached an estimated 50 mph before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a wall.

As reported in the Star the accident happened hours after Swarbrick had been pulled over by police in Ipswich Town Centre and warned about his speed.

The two girls were rushed to hospital and both sustained head injuries.

Dayle was left in a medically induced coma for a week after losing five pints of blood and had a fractured head and skull.

Dayle's mother, Joanne David today told the Star how her daughter was given half an hour to live after she was brought in by ambulance crews.

Since the accident Dayle has made a miraculous recovery, but her mother says she'll never be the same again and she now feels that Swarbrick's two year ban from driving is not enough.

She said: “I wish he'd got a longer ban, it wasn't long enough. I don't think Dayle will ever make a full recovery although she is better than she was.

“She still talks about it but now the court case is over I feel we can put it behind us and concentrate on Dayle now.”

Mrs David told the Star how Dayle has behaved uncharacteristically since the accident because of her head injuries, verbally hitting out at her teachers and attacking another pupil.

She said: “I would say there's about 20 per cent that is not her, she would never have sworn at her parents or her teacher before.”

Mrs David has no way of knowing if these startling changes in Dayle's personality are permanent but they have already had a major impact on her daughter's life.

Mrs David desperately hopes her daughter will get back to normal and live a full life eventually but she said: “I'm disappointed that she didn't put a seat belt on because she always wore one, but that time she just didn't.”

Although the medical experts treating Dayle have said she will never be 100per cent back to normal, Mrs David said: “I'm just glad I've got what I've got.”