Baby in M50 crash was 'vision no-one should see'

Kate Justiceand
Elliot Ball,West Midlands
News imageBBC A silver car is pictured on its roof and up against the central reservation of the motorway. A man in a blue t-shirt and beige shorts is standing on the side of the motorway on the phone. Several other people are pictured in the background standing on the motorway. Debris is scattered across the road.BBC
Kirsty Johnson said it was a sight she does not think she will ever be able to forget

An eyewitness has recalled her horror at finding an eight-day-old baby in an overturned car on the M50.

The crash happened at about 06:15 BST on Monday, between junction one and junction two, near the border between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Kirsty Johnson had been returning home to Birmingham after a family holiday when they came across the car on its roof.

She said the baby did not make a sound for two minutes, but then started screaming which was "such a relief".

She continued: "Straight away we panicked and pulled up on the hard shoulder. I called emergency services.

"The vehicle was completely upside down and the barrier to the motorway was completely off, as well."

While on the phone to 999, Johnson heard people shout over to her that there was a baby in the car.

One man named Jamie and Johnson's partner found the baby lying beneath the windscreen.

"Although it was already horrific to see, my heart just dropped," she said. "About two minutes later, they're being lifted out the car and my partner is holding this little baby in a pink baby grow.

"And it wasn't crying for about two minutes. It wasn't crying at all, so as you can imagine my heart was just... it was awful.

"But a couple of minutes later the baby started screaming so that was such a relief."

West Mercia Police said a 37-year-old woman from the same vehicle had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Johnson remained at the side of the road with the child, who had suffered some swelling and bruising to her head.

The girl's mother was left trapped inside the vehicle and had been "screaming" with pain from her lower back.

Paramedics were on the scene 15 minutes later and took over from Johnson and the other people at the scene.

News imageA smoking engine is resting up against the central reservation with debris scattered across the road.
The engine was seen "smoking" about 30 yards away from the vehicle

Asked how the rest of the day had been, the mum from Birmingham said: "Horrible. It's a vision I would not wish anyone to see.

"The baby was the smallest thing I've ever seen, it was tiny. Seeing the baby come out the car the way it was, it was horrible.

"It's a vision that I think you will just not ever forget."

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said the baby had been taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital, while a woman in her 30s had been taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

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