Brave mother saves her baby from runaway car

Craig Kesteven, a lorry driver from Hove, watched in horror as a car manoeuvring in to a parking space failed to stop and instead ploughed through a bollard towards his wife Lindsey who was pushing their one-year-old son Chase in a buggy.

Mr Kesteven flung out a hand to protect himself and three-year-old son Olly. Mrs Kesteven managed to push Chase’s buggy out of danger but was crushed against a wooden bench by the car.

Mr Kesteven had to yank open the driver’s door and force the automatic into reverse to free his injured wife.

Mrs Kesteven, 31, is still in hospital after the terrifying ordeal, which took place on a pedestrian walkway in the car park of Tesco in Church Road, Hove, last Thursday.

Mr Kesteven told The Argus: “The car was flat out. It revved up out of nowhere.

“I held my hand up to protect us and Lindsey managed to push Chase, in the buggy, away.

“It looks like she’ll be scarred for life.

“If that had been a child he wouldn’t have survived.”

Police are now investigating why the 83-year-old driver failed to stop.

Mr Kesteven, 34, said his family could have been killed and has called on Tesco to replace the plastic bollards at the site with stronger, metal structures.

The exact cause of the accident, whether driver error or mechanical failure, is still being established. But the family have called for a petition to require elderly drivers to have to re-take their test or reconfirm their fitness to drive.

Speaking briefly from her hospital bed yesterday, Mrs Kesteven told The Argus: “The most important thing for me is that the law is changed on elderly people driving. I feel really strongly about that.”

The family had parked and were on their way to the shops in nearby George Street at 10.30am last Thursday.

The incident occurred as they walked along a path at the edge of the Tesco car park which has three-foot tall bollards separating pedestrians from vehicles.

A red Peugeot 306 driven by an 83-year-old woman revved loudly, according to eye-witnesses, and drove beyond the parking space onto the pathway.

Mr Kesteven, whose eldest child was not with the family at the time, said: “My son could have had his whole family wiped out in one hit.

“And if Lindsey had been there on her own, she’d have had Olly by her side and he’d have taken the first impact of the car.

“We’d be burying our son right now.”

Baby Chase suffered bruising to his head in the accident, which left his buggy on its side. Olly is now afraid of cars and wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.

Mrs Kesteven has had two operations on her legs, which are covered with deep cuts, and she may also need skin grafts.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We are saddened to hear about this accident and send our best wishes to those who were involved.

“We take safety in our store car parks very seriously and are always reviewing any measures we can take to ensure they are as safe as possible for our customers.”

A spokesman for Sussex Police confirmed the incident is under investigation.

To sign Mrs Kesteven’s petition calling for a change in the law, go to: change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-all-drivers-70-over-to-retake-driving-test