Did car hit sports star? (From Salisbury Journal)

Did car hit sports star?

11:53am Wednesday 31st October 2012 in Headlines By Miranda Robertson

THE mother of a teenage sports star is appealing to the conscience of the driver of a silver car it is believed may have hit her daughter, leaving her with potentially life-threatening injuries.

Heather Hood, 48, raced to Crow Hill, near Ringwood, minutes after her husband Hugh, 46, called to say he had found their daughter Lissie lying unconscious in the road.

The 14-year-old, who is a double biathle (run-swim-run) world champion and ranked number one in the UK for the 1500 metres, trains at Ringwood’s David Lloyd leisure centre.

She had been out riding her bicycle with her father when she disappeared from sight over a hill at about 5.30pm on October 20.

Mr Hood crested the hill after his talented daughter and was devastated to find her lying unconscious in the road, her helmet crushed, two teeth and her collarbone broken and abrasions all down one side.

Lissie, a pupil at Bournemouth School for Girls and the couple’s only child, was raced to Southampton General Hospital and put into a medically induced coma to stop her brain swelling. Her distraught parents were told there was a strong chance she had a bleed on the brain and she might need surgery.

But, miraculously, Lissie, of West Moors, is now on the mend, and expected to make a full recovery. Her collarbone aches and it is difficult to move her arm, and she won’t be back at school full-time for a while because of the headaches and visual disturbances, but she is determined to compete again next year.

Mrs Hood said: “It was horrendous, just horrendous.

“To see Lissie with a severe head trauma was the worst thing that I could imagine but somehow she came through it – it could have been so much worse. She’s a tough cookie.”

Mr Hood saw a silver car pass him travelling towards Ringwood just before he discovered Lissie in the road.

A witness who was travelling from Ringwood in the opposite direction has also said they saw a silver car before they saw Lissie in the road.

Mrs Hood said: “Her helmet saved her. She was unconscious before she hit the ground, still holding on to her handlebars, and that is why we believe she was hit, rather than fell.

“If anyone knows someone with a silver car that has been damaged they should contact the police and let them know.

“To watch Lissie compete is just awesome. Thank heaven she came through – we just feel so lucky.

“The community has really pulled together for us, it’s just fantastic.”

Anyone with any information about the incident should contact police on 101.