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Police hunt driver after Ethel, 95, is hit and run victim
Pensioner recovering after being injured on road she’s ‘crossed a million times’
HER brothers and husband fought on the frontline throughout the entire Second World War – and lived to tell the tale.
Now Ethel Hall is showing she is a survivor too.
The 95-year-old was rushed to the Royal Free Hospital after being knocked unconscious by a “hit-and-run” van on a busy Kentish Town street as she crossed the road outside her house.
Treated for severe spinal and head injuries, the pensioner has some bruises and a small bump on her head. No bones were broken and, although clearly shaken from the trauma, Ms Hall was in high spirits when the New Journal popped in on Tuesday. Traffic police, however, are determined to trace the driver who drove off without stopping. They have been hampered by a lack of CCTV covering the scene.
Ms Hall said: “I was just walking back from the bus stop on Fortess Road – I’d been at the bank. I must have crossed the road a million times. I crept out by this green car and peeped down the road one way. Then looked the other way. There were no cars. So I walked out into the road.”
It is believed at this point a van reversed out of Bellina Mews into Fortess Road in a three-point-turn-style-manoeuvre, bashing into the great-grandmother, before leaving her for dead. The van did not stop and police are treating the collision as a “fail to stop”. The New Journal has learned that there are no CCTV cameras covering that part of Fortess Road – one of the busiest in Camden. The collision was not caught on CCTV, meaning catching the driver will be reliant on witnesses coming forward.
Investigating officer, Bob Slater, of the Euston Collision Unit, said: “Unfortunately, in this case I have studied the local CCTV and we cannot see the accident. We can’t see anything because there is no local CCTV there. It means we have to go back further up the road to look from another camera. We can see vans that could be involved – but there is no way of being sure.”
Ms Hall, who has lived in Fortess Road for 25 years, comes from tough stock. Her father was a labourer who worked on a farm in the village of Cressing, Essex. Born at the onset of the First World War, her first childhood memory is of bombers over her family cottage where she shared a bedroom with her seven brothers and sisters. Her twin sister, Annie, died 25 years ago.
She worked as a “skivvy” in the County Hotel, Chelmsford, for five years before meeting future husband, Rodney, who died in 1999.
Ms Hall said: “But then he was called up for service. The funniest thing was that he ended up manning a gun and my brother was loading the ammunition.”
The couple moved to London after the Second World War and Mr Hall worked in a paint factory in Theobalds Road, Holborn. They had five children, two of whom live in Fortess Road.
A police spokesman said: “It is believed the woman had been in collision with a vehicle as she crossed the road, and police are treating this as a fail to stop.”
He added: “Officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident, and in particular would like to speak with the driver of a white van which was parked near the location immediately before. Witnesses or those with any information can contact the Unit on 020 7388 6806; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.” |
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