'My life has been wrecked – but she's still driving about'

Janette Taylor feels let down after learning a BMW driver who mounted a kerb and struck her will not be prosecuted

07:03, 05 Apr 2026Updated 07:14, 05 Apr 2026

A mum-of-three says her life has been ‘wrecked’ after a driver mounted the kerb and struck her as she walked along a Bury street. Janette Taylor told loved ones that she had ‘been lucky’ when she thought she had escaped from the ordeal with just a bruise.

But three days later, the 44-year-old was rushed to hospital after finding herself unable to walk. Despite six months of treatment and physiotherapy since the collision, Janette is still struggling to get around.

Her pain has also been compounded by news that the driver involved will not be prosecuted – with the motorist set to take on a driver training course instead. Janette told the Manchester Evening News: “The more I think about it, the more I cry. I’m sick of crying. She has wrecked my life.”

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CCTV captured the moment Janette’s life turned upside down, as she walked to meet her youngest son after school. Moments after Janette crosses Gigg Lane, in a 20mph zone, a black BMW can be seen approaching.

The car appears to go over a speed bump, before veering off to the left and mounting the kerb at speed. Janette turns to the side as she is clipped by the vehicle.

The BMW, meanwhile, can be seen driving back onto the road and continuing out of sight of the CCTV camera. Janette can be seen leaning against a wall following the incident, while a boy on the other side of the road shouts across to check if she’s OK.

Janette, who worked as a carer before the injury left her unable to, says her arm was initially bruised following the incident on Gigg Lane last October 6. Three days later, she was unable to walk. She spent a couple of days in hospital for scans, and it is believed Janette has suffered nerve damage.

Janette – who has sons Lewis, 18, Kayden, 15, and Rocco, seven – is facing ongoing physiotherapy following the incident, but she is still in pain. “I’m struggling every day,” she said.

“I take so many tablets, I feel like a drug addict – I’m shaking before I’ve had them. That’s my daily routine, but she’s still driving about. How is that fair? I’m never in trouble. I’ve never been arrested. I just feel let down.”

Janette says GMP rang her three times following the incident, and sent a large questionnaire out for her to complete about what happened. She says she was still shook up by the ordeal when she filled the form in, including a section asking for what ways she would feel it was appropriate for police to deal with the incident.

She ticked both boxes for the driver to be prosecuted, and for her to go on a driving course. However, Janette insists she did not believe the course would take place without any prosecution, and she asked GMP to review its decision.

Janette said: “To me it feels like, because she’s not killed me, it’s not a crime. I was really emotional after it happened. It got better, but when the police told me she was only going on a driving course, I was back to square one. There’s no justice.

“I can’t pick my son up from school, I don’t drive. I said to the physio last time I went, ‘how long am I going to be coming here for?’. She said ‘it will be ages yet, you are nowhere near where you’re meant to be’. I can’t go to Asda. I cry in pain when I go – I just say ‘get me in the car, I’m in agony’. It’s just those little things. I can’t go to work.”

Greater Manchester Police says the case has been reviewed. It’s understood that a driver training course is considered the favoured process for dealing with incidents such as the one which affected Janette.

A GMP spokesperson said: “Officers have been in touch with the victim and the collision investigation has been thoroughly reviewed. It has been confirmed that this was completed within current local and national policy guidelines.”