POLICE are hunting a callous hit-and-run driver after he mowed down a helpless grandmother-of-five – while carrying two kids in the back seat.
Witnesses say the driver was accompanied by a female passenger and two children in the back seat as he struck 64 year-old Doreen Fletcher.
Mrs Fletcher was crossing Prestonfield Road in Edinburgh around 7.30pm on Monday when she was hit by the dark-coloured hatchback’s bonnet after buying a pint of milk at her local shop.
Her devastated family have described the driver’s actions are “despicable” and are appealing for him to hand himself in.
The pensioner was treated at the scene after sustaining a head injury and fractures to her shoulder and knee before being taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
She is said to be in a stable condition.
Police say the car, possibly a dark green Peugot 106 or 306, is thought to have sustained damage to the front headlights.
Hit after shopping trip
Doreen’s husband John Fletcher, 66, is currently house-bound and was left helpless as news of his wife’s accident filtered through.
He said: “Doreen popped out for a pint of milk and I thought she had just got speaking to someone. My neighbour heard all the commotion outside and came in to tell me she had been hit by a car.
“My initial thoughts were to think the worst. I can’t get out of the house just now after going through an operation recently and I just couldn’t get to her – I felt so helpless.
“Luckily, there were two men walking past that saw everything and stopped to help, I’m ever so grateful to them. But what I can’t understand is that they said there was a woman in the front and two kids in the back of the car.
“It is unbelievable that someone could do that and just drive off without a care in the world.
“How was he to know that she had survived? I just find that just despicable, especially as he had two kids with him.”
Witnesses saw the car slow down after the impact and the two adults arguing before the car sped off in the direction of the busy Dalkeith Road.
Driver had kids in back
A police spokesman said: “We know that the vehicle was being driven by a male, with a female in the front passenger seat and children in the back. We also know that the car sustained damage to the front headlights.
“We want anyone witnessed the incident, or who recognises the description of the vehicle and can provide us with information as to the identity of the driver, to get in touch.”
