Hit and run family speak out
The family of a Stroud woman involved in a hit and run have appealed for the driver to come forward.
Julie Bloodworth suffered serious injuries when she was knocked down shortly after 10pm on Saturday February 13.
Police believe she was hit by a vehicle in Brick Row and dragged by it to the car park in Parliament Street. She was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital before being transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol where she is being treated for her injuries.
In a statement issued on behalf of the family they said:
“A week ago last Saturday our ‘fiery angel’ Julie was seriously injured just yards from her own home by a cowardly and selfish driver who left her for dead.
“The past week has been horrific for all of us. We were told twice that we could lose Julie; she was put in an induced coma, has been on a life support machine and had three operations. Our father is also critically ill in hospital in France.
“Thankfully Julie is now out of the intensive care unit and is doing a little better and is starting to talk again.
“We don’t understand how anyone could leave her like that. Julie has a big heart and will do anything to help anyone. She really doesn’t deserve this.
“She describes herself as a free bird but at the moment she’s far from free, she can’t even brush her own hair and her injuries mean that she has months, if not years, of operations ahead of her.
“So many lives have been affected by this and the person who has caused all this heartache needs to realise the enormity of the damage they’ve caused.
“Somebody somewhere knows what happened to her and we beg them to come forward.
“We also just want to say thank you to the people that found her, the staff looking after her at Frenchay Hospital, the police for the work they are doing to find who is responsible but mostly thank you to all of our family and friends for their kind words and support.”
Making an appeal to the driver Inspector Paula Hannaford, from Gloucestershire Police, said:
“We are aware that the driver of the vehicle involved in this incident is probably anxious and afraid and might not want to come forward to the Police for these reasons.
“Julie Bloodworth is a mother and a sister. It could have been anyone’s mother or sister caught up in these events.
“It seems inconceivable that the driver did not know what happened and is something that will remain on their conscience forever. For the sake of Julie and her family we urge to the driver to come forward and for the sake of doing the right thing and clearing their own conscience, we appeal for them to get in touch.
“Enquiries are continuing and each day we are closer to identifying the vehicle involved. A dedicated team are examining CCTV images from the area on the evening of the incident and last Saturday, exactly a week after the incident; officers stopped and spoke to anyone in the area that may have made the same trip the week before.
“We are also speaking to the drivers and passengers of every car that was parked here at the time that Julie was found and appeal to anyone who either used this car park or walked past it between 10.15pm to 10.25pm on Saturday February 13 to get in touch with us.
“We remain confident that our investigation combined with the help of the local community will help us to identify the vehicle involved and therefore also the driver and so our message to the driver remains come forward before we identify you ourselves.”
Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact Gloucestershire Constabulary on 0845 090 1234 quoting incident number 445 of February 13. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
ENDS