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May 9, 2026 — A woman whose car crashed through a fence and into a nursery school playground in northwest England has walked out of court with a suspended prison sentence, despite leaving three children injured and a two-year-old boy trapped beneath her front wheel.
Jayne James, 63, from Great Sutton, admitted dangerous driving at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. The collision happened on June 16 during drop-off time at a nursery in Ellesmere Port, a town in Cheshire, when 22 children aged 2 and 3 were playing outside.
According to Cheshire Police, James pulled into the car park in her gray Omoda people carrier, then moved “at pace” through a wooden fence and into the playground before hitting a brick wall.
A staff member pulled the young boy from under the car. He was taken to a hospital with what police described as a significant friction burn across his torso — one they believed happened because the wheel was still turning while he was trapped. Two other children were also injured by debris and taken to the hospital. Police confirmed later that all three were discharged and have since recovered physically.
James was arrested at the scene. In an interview, she said she did not remember the specific details of how the crash happened. She told officers she had been driving the automatic vehicle for several months and said there was a feature on the Omoda that could cause the car to accelerate if a certain pedal was pressed while it was stationary.
An examination of the vehicle found no mechanical faults “that could have caused or contributed toward the collision,” police said.
The court heard that the 22 children had been put at “serious risk” because James was unable to control her car. She was given four months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for two years.
Detective Sergeant Amy Hollis, of Cheshire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “The lives of over 20 young children were put at serious risk as a result of James’ inability to control her vehicle. Three of them were injured, one of them was trapped between the vehicle and a brick wall, all of them were left scared.”
Hollis also praised nursery staff and emergency services for moving the children to safety quickly.
“The outcome could have been very different,” she said. “I am very glad to hear that all the children injured in the collision both directly and indirectly have been discharged from hospital and have since made a full physical recovery.”
She added that the children and their families were still being supported by partner agencies because of the likely lasting emotional and psychological impact of the crash.
The case is a reminder that lightweight fencing around school play areas is often no match for a slow-moving vehicle. A car does not need to be traveling fast to cause serious harm — especially when very young children are near the pavement, a driveway, or a drop-off zone.
James’s explanation also points to a recognized safety issue known as pedal misapplication, where a driver presses the accelerator instead of the brake while the vehicle is stationary. That type of error has been studied by road-safety investigators in several countries and is often a factor in low-speed parking-lot crashes.
The vehicle involved in this case, an Omoda people carrier, is attached to the Chinese automaker Chery’s global brand push. It is not widely sold in the United States, though the brand has been expanding in European markets. Police found no evidence of a vehicle malfunction, which pointed to driver error rather than a mechanical defect.
For day-care centers and schools, the incident reinforces a simple but important point: physical separation between traffic and children’s play spaces can mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.
