Father's fears for car crash girl

A HORRIFIED father is today warning youngsters to take care in cars after his 15-year-old daughter was injured in a crash on her way home from a party.

Jon Kelly, of Woodlands, Chelmondiston, feared for his daughter's life and spent an agonising night in hospital waiting to find out if she would survive her injuries.

Today Rebecca Kelly (known as Becca) is still swollen and bruised from the incident which led to her having plastic surgery to restore her facial features.

She was one of six teenagers in a black Renault Clio when it hit a brick bus shelter, in Shotley, shortly before midnight on Friday .

The group of teenagers, who were mainly 15 and 16-year-old Holbrook High School pupils, were on their way home from a party at Shotley Gate when the crash happened.

Miss Kelly had been sitting on a rear-seat passenger's lap.

She later had to be dragged out of the wrecked car by nearby residents after it was crushed on impact.

Mr Kelly said: “It was around midnight when there was a knock on the door. Immediately I panicked and thought something was wrong.

“When I got to the door it was a neighbour saying there had been a crash in Shotley which Becca had been involved in and had been taken to hospital.

“I cannot even begin to explain my feelings at that moment. It was horrendous. I went straight to the hospital.

“It wasn't until we got there we saw she was in a really bad state.

“She was so confused and shocked that she wouldn't let the nurses do anything. That was the worst bit. Knowing she may have been seriously injured with a head wound and nobody could do anything until she calmed down.”

Mr Kelly, his ex-wife and their current partners spent shifts trying to calm their daughter down and reassure her she was now safe in hospital.

“It was just the worst situation ever to be put in. It wasn't until 7am the next day that she calmed down enough for x-rays to be taken and we found out everything would be OK.”

Miss Kelly's head was injured when she was thrown forwards and she had to have stitches where she bit through her lip.

She also had to have her teeth realigned where they had been forced out of shape with the impact.

Mr Kelly said it could take up to three months for her to fully recover physically from the incident.

He added: “We want to thank all those who were involved in helping her out. From the people who stopped at the scene to the nurses in hospital.

“I just want to warn teenagers out there to be careful when they are considering how to get home from a night out.

“They may think the worst thing to do is to wake their parents up but if there are too many of them for one car they really should.

Suffolk police said the male driver of the car was arrested on suspicion of drink driving at the scene.

Police are asking pedestrians or drivers who were in the area at the time of the crash to contact Pc Danny Ormes from the Suffolk police Road's Policing Unit on 01473 613500.