Northampton woman hit by motorist speaks of terrifying ordeal after being told she won't walk for three years

Former PA to a crown court judge, Jackie Shortland, of Upper Mounts was walking to Tesco seven weeks ago when she was hit by a motorist near her home and found herself laying helplessly in the road with life-changing injuries.

Now Jackie claims she won't walk again for up to three years as she has broken her tibial plateau - the main weight bearing bone - which affects her knee joint and balance, and as a result of the injury, she had to have a bone graft.

She said: "He [the driver] carried on and somebody was actually behind him, cut him up and he came running back down the street and he said 'what are you doing'? I said 'laying in the road'.

"I was laying in the road because obviously, my bone was out, it was completely shattered.

"Look what you have done to me."

Passers-by rushed to her aid and an ambulance took her to Northampton General Hospital.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said the investigation into the collision is still ongoing and no arrests or charges have been made.

Jackie, who is also registered blind and suffers from MS, says her main problem now is wheeling her chair into town alone and walking her two pugs as the block of flats she lives in has no lift.

She has found herself stranded in Northampton town centre three times in her wheelchair and has been pushed home by strangers.

"It's impossible to go out, you can't get down kerbs, I can wheel out of the car park and that's me done," she said.

"There are big slabs sticking up, it's ridiculous, You don't realise until you're in this situation how hard it is. So basically I am stranded, it will take my independence away."

Jackie will have her leg in plaster for 11 months altogether and currently hops backwards up the stairs with her zimmer-frame around her neck and slides down the stairs on her bottom to go outside.

"My hobbies are, fishing, I fish with one of my sons every weekend, but I can't do that now. It's [the wheelchair is] cumbersome, he has to leave me, but that's my only hobby.

Laura Morgan, head of housing and neighbourhoods at emh homes said: “Our housing and neighbourhoods officer visited Mrs Shortland yesterday to assess her housing situation.

"Unfortunately, while her circumstances raise some concerns regarding her welfare, they do not meet our threshold for an internal transfer. We have therefore referred her to the local authority for a full assessment of her application for rehousing.”