A nurse whose legs were broken when she was run over by an 84-year-old woman has called for all drivers to retake their test at the age of 70.
Laura Robinson, 28, was struck down by a reversing Peugeot 208 as she waited at a ticket machine to pay to park her car in August last year.
She was thrown into the air after being reversed into by the pensioner and was knocked unconscious as her head hit a wall.
The children’s nurse also sustained two broken legs and has faced months of being assisted with the aid of a wheelchair and crutches.
She will not be able to go back to work for at least another six months.
The driver of the car, an 84-year-old woman was fined just £688 by magistrates and given six points on her licence for driving without due care and attention.
Current British legislation allows drivers at the age of 70 to renew their licence for a maximum of three years by declaring themselves fit.
Laura, from Widnes, Cheshire, said: “I know this driver didn’t have any intention of hitting me but I would like to urge older drivers to be vigilant and very careful.
“When older people get to 70 they should be retested instead of just simply signing a document.
“They don’t know that their own reactions are slower, but as you get older of course they do.
“She hit three things, me, a telecommunications box then another car – but all she said was ‘it all happened so fast’.
“She gets £3,000-a-month pension and I’m left on half pay – I think it’s disgusting that she didn’t even get a road ban.
“Even if she got a ban, she’d still have a bus pass and the money to get taxis everywhere.”
Laura was visiting a friend in Knutsford, Cheshire, when she was struck by a reversing Peugeot 208 as she paid for parking on August 16 last year.
Laura was flown by air ambulance to Wythenshawe Hospital after her double leg break – which left her hospitalised for three weeks and needing four operations.
Laura, a paediatric nurse who works in the cardiac unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, has been told by medics her recovery could take two years.
Laura added: “They don’t think my left leg will recover fully as a pin snapped and I had to have further surgery which shattered the top of my femur.
“They have wired all the fragments back together but there is nerve damage in my left leg and both feet.”
Laura, who studied at Riverside College and Salford University, is undergoing physiotherapy and rehabilitation but believes her fitness is helping her recovery.
“I used to go to the gym six times a week and had a very active life,” she said.
“I really do love my job and can’t wait to get back to work. It’s my dream job, I worked hard studying for five years.”
Laura wants to trace heroes at the scene who helped her in the minutes after the car hit her.
Speaking about the incident, Laura said: “I was unconscious for a few minutes – I was thrown into the air and hit my head on a wall.
“I had to have stitches on my head and broke both femurs and my right tibia – I could have had a spinal injury but those who helped knew not to move me.
“I believe an army medic who was at the scene was a huge help – I received such excellent care, I’m thankful to everyone.”
Laura had been chosen to accompany terminally ill children on a trip of a lifetime to Florida last November which she missed out on.
She was also looking forward to being a bridesmaid for a friend and going on holiday with her boyfriend Edward Fernley, 24, last year, which she is also had to cancel.
