Girl, 5, survives 20mph crash with fractured skull
The mother of a five-year-old girl who fractured her skull after being hit by a vehicle is calling for extra traffic calming measures in a Gwynedd village.
Nanw Wyn Jones had just returned from a family holiday in Spain when she was struck on the B4413 in Mynytho on 18 September.
Despite being airlifted to hospital with a fractured skull and suffering the after-effects of a concussion, she was well enough to return to school on Tuesday after a three-day hospital stay.
Thankful the driver had stuck to the road's 20mph speed limit, Nanw's mother Ffion said additional measures were needed as "not all vehicles stick to the limit".
"If the driver was travelling faster than 20mph, we would have been a much worse situation," said Ffion, who works as a receptionist.
"The police themselves were saying that if the vehicle was travelling at 30mph then the impact would have been a lot worse."
The council said it was considering further changes on the road.
Since September 2023, Welsh government policy means 20mph, rather than 30mph, is the speed limit in more built-up areas.
The policy is currently being reviewed after almost 500,000 people signed a petition opposing the lower limit, with a number of road signs having been damaged.
The Welsh government acknowledged the new lower limit is not appropriate everywhere and said local authorities can make exceptions, though not outside schools.
Recent figures suggest there was a 23% drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales in the first three months of 2024.
Ffion added: "It's concerning because this is one of our main roads here in Pen Llŷn, so many travel on it on a daily basis.
"We'd been away and had just come back from Spain that day, Nanw had been to her grandmother's and they were walking to the park at the time.
"I think Nanw was excited to see her friends to tell her stories from Spain and it happened so quickly.
"It only takes seconds for something to happen."
After receiving a call, Ffion said the next few hours were a "nightmare" as her daughter was airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for treatment.
"You think about all kinds of things, and don't know what to expect until you get there," she said.
"But we are terribly lucky and things could have been much, much worse.
"She had a fractured skull and a concussion after the accident, that will take time but thankfully she is back to herself and back to school."
Relieved that Nanw is now home, Ffion has started a petition to try to put pressure on Gwynedd council and other agencies to introduce traffic calming measures.
"We'd like to see speedbumps here, it's a straight road and hard to stick to the 20mph on it," she said.
She said people often drive faster than 30mph, adding: "There were concerns that something was going to happen, but clearly now something has happened and a lesson needs to be learnt."
The local county councilor is supporting the calls for further measures,
"Thankfully the driver was only doing 20mph, if they had been doing more than that we would have had a bit more of a problem now," said independent councillor Angela Russell.
"Something's got to be done, I know the police and the council are working together and want to come out and have a look at what can be done.
"The playground and the school are so close and there are young families who have just moved here."
The council said: "We are aware of this particular incident and send our best wishes to the family who have been affected.
"We will consider if there are further modifications that could be introduced to support the 20mph speed limit and, from that, if it would be beneficial to apply for financial support from the Welsh government."
