http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
First accident[edit]
Sophie first came to the attention of the public on 15 December 2003 when she and Molly Wood, both two years old at the time, were badly injured when they were trapped under a burning car which had crashed through a gate into the Roundhouse Childcare Centre at Fairlight in Sydney, Austra
The driver who crashed into the child care centre, Donald John McNeall, was 68 at the time of the accident. He was cleared of negligent driving before a magistrate's court after medical experts agreed he had had a seizure.
In late 2004 Sophie's parents founded the Day of Difference Foundation, a charity dedicated to raising funds for research into pediatric burns and related diseases.[6]
In January 2006, Sophie was enrolled at the publicly funded Balgowlah Heights Public School. The school was extensively refurbished to accommodate the needs of Sophie.[7]
Due to the driver not being found liable, nobody was responsible for Sophie's extensive medical costs. However, the driver's compulsory third party insurance provider, the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA), covered the costs ex-gratia.[8] Due to this loophole in insurance coverage the NSW government introduced the Children's Special Benefit[9] for children under 16 where no insurance coverage is available and later introduced a similar scheme to cover third parties of any age injured in an accident where nobody is liable called "Blameless Accidents".[10]
Second accident[edit]
On 5 May 2006 Sophie made national headlines a second time when she was again badly injured in a road accident. While being pushed across a crossing by her nanny in a wheelchair (her service dog Tara by her side) near her home in Sydney's northern beaches, she was hit by a car and thrown 18 metres. Sophie suffered a heart attack, a broken jaw, a broken shoulder, bruising to her head, numerous rib fractures and a tear to her left lung. She was treated at the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick.[11]
She left hospital and returned home to continue her recovery on 7 June 2006.[12]
An 80-year-old man, John George Sharman, was charged in relation to the second accident with "dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and not giving way to a pedestrian on a crossing".[13] Having pleaded guilty Sharman was in October 2006 placed on a good behaviour bond for 18 months and suspended from driving for a year.[14]
Sophie's father maintained that while accidents do happen, reconstruction of the pedestrian crossing in question must be commenced, due to the number of incidents occurring.
On 16 July 2006 Sophie's story was told on Channel 7's True Stories series.
Sophie Delezio returned to classes at Balgowlah Heights Public School on Thursday, 20 July 2006.[15]
As of June 2011, it has been reported that she aspires to be a paralympic swimmer, because that way she will easily be able to put out the fire if she burns again.[16]
Public response[edit]
As a result of Sophie Delezio's accident over $2 million has been raised, along with heightened public awareness for the need for adequate support and services for pediatric burns patients. Some of these funds were raised at the Kids 4 Kids Benefit Concert held on 10 September 2006. The Government of New South Waleshas announced that it is investigating the possibility of reducing the age for mandatory medical checks for drivers from 80 to 75 years of age. It has agreed to install traffic lights at the crossing where the accident occurred.
No comments:
Post a Comment