Friends help sisters recover after crash

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TWO schoolgirl sisters knocked down by a van on their way to school in Doncaster are back at home but face a long wait before they can get back to lessons.
In the meantime dozens of friends from Don Valley School, Scawthorpe, are visiting Natasha and Courtney Barrett, aged 14 and 11, at their York Road home to wish them well.

Both girls had surgery at Doncaster Royal Infirmary for injuries they sustained while trying to cross York Road, near the junction with their street, Baldwin Avenue, almost a fortnight ago.

The girls were rushing to catch a bus to take them to Scawthorpe when they were in the collision with a Citroën van on the A638.

Their parents Dale Barrett and Alison Wilson have stressed they do not blame the van driver for the accident.

Natasha, who had an operation on her fractured thigh, is confined to a wheelchair and is still upset by the accident.

Courtney, who had surgery to pin her broken ankle and is now able to get about a little on crutches, was also hit on the head and cannot remember much about the crash, said their mum.

Mrs Wilson said her daughters would need further treatment and had no idea when they would get back to school but there had been a constant stream of family and friends visiting.

She said: "The house is full of get well cards and we have been very grateful for everyone's support. My colleagues at Royal Mail held a collection for the girls and raised £178 for them to spend on things to keep them occupied, such as computer games, which made them smile a bit because we didn't expect it."

Mrs Wilson said they realised the accident could have been much more serious and one benefit was their friends were paying more attention to road safety.

"All their friends say they're being more careful going to school and I know Natasha and Courtney will be very nervous when they go back. It's a hard lesson for them to learn but we're grateful they're still here."

Don Valley headteacher Hanora D'Rozario said: "We are all very, very relieved it was not more serious and they will be able to make a full recovery. They are two lovely sisters who also have cousins at the school and some of their friends visited them as soon as they were able. York Road is very busy at that time of day and the rain made the conditions very bad at that particular time."