Teacher's crash hell

Published 9 Jun 2010 14:57

A JOHNSTONE teacher thought she was going to die when a tanker smashed into her car on a busy motorway.

Anne Ferla, 58, was travelling home to Johnstone when her vehicle was struck by a lorry on the busy Kingston Bridge in Glasgow.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court last week, it was heard how Mrs Ferla was found sobbing and praying, thinking she was going to die at the scene. The special needs teacher claimed she was travelling at 45mph towards her home when was shunted forward with such force that she lost control of her car and careered to the right of the motorway, hitting a crash barrier.

When her car came to a stop it started to roll backwards.

The terrifying accident happened when Mrs Ferla was travelling home to Johnstone from her work in Glasgow on May 23 2007.

Her car was struck by a lorry operated by McPherson Ltd on the busy Kingston Bridge.

Another lorry driver, Hugh Boyle, who witnessed the collision came to Mrs Ferla's aid and brought the car to a halt by pulling the hand brake on.

The Kia was damaged to the rear driver's side wing, bumper and tailgate. The tanker had damage to its front bumper.

The lorry driver claimed that suddenly and without warning Mrs Ferla had moved her car across the path of his vehicle.

Mrs Ferla maintained she went in to her correct lane and remained there. She was struck and had no idea what happened after the incident.

Mrs Ferla's car was damaged beyond repair and she was required to hire a car to travel to her work at St Aiden's School in Carntyne, Glasgow.

In a written judgement issued last week, Sheriff James Mitchell said: "Mrs Ferla sustained loss and damage as a result of the accident which was caused solely through fault on the part of the tanker driver who failed to take reasonable care for the safety of Mrs Ferla in that he did not keep a good lookout, observe and react."

Sheriff Mitchell awarded Mrs Ferla £6,823.10 as a result of the crash.

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