‘I answered a stranger’s call and heard my son screaming, I was so scared’

A mum has described the terrifying moment she answered a phone call from a stranger to hear her son screaming in the background.

Louise Ollerhead picked up a call from a woman who had heard a ‘bang’ on a street, the Liverpool Echo reports. She said she could then hear her 11-year-old son Marley screaming in the background of the call.

The woman told Louise that Marley had been run over but ‘seemed ok’. The mum rushed to the scene within minutes, before Marley was taken to hospital by police.

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Marley, who had gone to McDonald’s with his friends, was struck by a van as he cycled across the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Claughton Road and Exmouth Street in Birkenhead. He suffered a broken wrist and a hairline fracture to his elbow in the shocking incident which happened at around 7.45pm on November 20.

Merseyside Police confirmed the van, described as silver or grey in colour, failed to stop after it hit Marley and has yet to be identified. The force confirmed CCTV enquiries are ongoing in the area to identify the vehicle.

Louise, 43, said: “He was crossing at a junction and had waited for the green man. When the green man came on he went to cross the road but a van went through and hit his back wheel.

“He said he flew up in the air and when he landed he looked up and saw a grey van driving away.” Louise said a male pedestrian stopped and waited with her son but had to soon leave.

She added she received a phone call from a woman who didn’t see the incident but heard ‘the bang’ when the van hit Marley’s bike. The mum said: “My mum is in hospital and I had just got home when I got the call.

“I heard Marley screaming in the back of the call. I was asking what had happened and the lady said he had been run over but seemed okay.

“I jumped in the car with my daughter and we were there within four minutes. I was so scared.”

Louise said when she got to the scene of the incident she was initially angry because she thought her son had ridden his bike through a red light. But after speaking with the woman at the scene, she claimed she was told the van had driven through a red light before leaving the area.

She told the ECHO: “Jumping the red light is one thing, but to hit a child and not stop is disgusting. Fault or no fault, the driver should have stopped.”

She said instead of waiting for an ambulance, police gave Marley an escort to hospital where it emerged he had sustained serious injuries to his arm. Marley, who has two brothers and two sisters, is now in a plaster cast which will remain on until January.

Louise said it is yet to be confirmed how much damage the incident will have on her son – a passionate Thai boxer who trains several days a week. She said she plans to take her son to Thailand next year for his birthday and is fearful about the impact the ‘nasty break’, to his dominant left wrist, will have.

She said: “I’m glad he’s okay because it could have been a lot worse. He’s had his first day back at school, but can’t go out with his friends on his bike. At the moment I don’t even want him to go out because I’m a bit scared.”

The mum said investigating police officers have told her they are gathering CCTV from local shops in the area to help identify the van. She also appealed publicly for the man who saw the incident and helped her son before leaving the scene to come forward to help investigations.

Constable Jennifer Wise, of Merseyside Police’s Matrix roads policing unit, said: “The boy sustained some serious injuries which could so easily have been worse. To make off from the scene of a collision with a child is beyond belief, and we are very keen to identify the driver as soon as possible.

“If you were passing by the area of Claughton Road at this time and saw or captured anything, let us know. Likewise, if you live nearby please check your CCTV, dashcam and doorbell footage for any silver or grey vans passing by, so we can identify the van and the offender.”

You can contact @MerPolCC on X, ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook, or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, with reference 24000983626.

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