Grandmother speaks of anger over her injuries caused by drunk driver

May 20 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A GRANDMOTHER has spoken of the horrific injuries she sustained after a drinks-river ran her over in Hamilton last year.

Forty-two-year-old Madeline Boyd was struck by the car driven by James Johnston as she pushed a baby in a pram near the roundabout at Udston Road and Farm Road on October 10 last year.

As a result, the Hamilton gran-of-two suffered a broken femur and has been left unable to work since the accident.

The baby, however, was unharmed.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court last Friday, Johnston (42) pleaded guilty to two charges relating to the matter.

He admitted driving at excessive speeds on Udston Road and Farm Road, failing to negotiate a mini-roundabout there, mounting the pavement, and striking Ms Boyd and a two-year-old girl in a buggy, to the former’s severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

He also pleaded guilty to having 111 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system at the time of the accident, the legal limit being 35 microgrammes.

This week, Madeline told the Advertiser of her ordeal.

She said: “The accident happened only a couple of months before Christmas, so that was my plans ruined.

“ I was housebound for weeks and weeks.

“What’s worse is that I was just about to start a new job as a barmaid shortly before it happened, but obviously I couldn’t work after the accident and have been out of work since.

“The thigh bone was broken. The surgeons had to insert metal plates into my leg, and I have an eight-inch scar from my knee to my thigh.

“I still have trouble walking, and I can’t go out without the use of a walking stick.

“The doctors said it could take up to 18 months for me to be fully healed.

“My face was also badly cut.”

The mother-of-three also said that the accident could have been far worse if the child she was pushing had been injured.

Madeline explained: “She was lucky. I managed to push the buggy almost out of the way before the car hit, so my knee bore the brunt of it rather than her wee head.

“That really alarmed me and I’m still very angry about what happened. He could have killed us.

“It was just a normal sunny afternoon, and I was minding my own business when that man drove into us because he was drunk and incapable of driving.

“There’s not much I can do about it now though. I’m stuck without work for now. He took my plans away from me.”

Last week, the court heard that Johnston, of Marswood Green in Burnbank, lost control of his Ford Focus car and careered into Madeline Boyd and the child.

The gran managed to push the buggy away seconds before she was struck, said fiscal depute Lisa Hilton.

The accused then stayed with the injured woman until the ambulance arrived, she added.

Sheriff Marie Smart deferred sentence on Johnston until June 10 for reports.

She also imposed an immediate driving ban and stated that she was considering all options.

Bail was continued meantime.