A young mother has revealed how both she and her unborn baby miraculously survived a horrific crash while she was pregnant, after a reckless driver smashed into a tree at 120mph - leaving her trapped in the burning wreckage. Chloe Batchelar, 21, says she pleaded with Jack Schofield, 24, to reduce his speed just moments before he lost control of his modified black Audi S3 at an unauthorised car gathering on 19 April last year.
Hesitant Ride
She had hesitantly climbed into the vehicle with the dangerous driver after her friend had connected with him on Snapchat merely a day earlier. A court was told how Schofield took the two women for a drive in his souped-up vehicle along an improvised circuit that had been established between two roundabouts in Northampton. However, after reaching 123mph, he struck a kerb, causing the car to roll before colliding with trees - resulting in serious injuries to both passengers.
Chloe sustained a severe burn to her back when the vehicle caught fire, along with 15 fractures to her spine, two to her neck, bleeding around her heart and severe head injuries. She has now courageously shared her story of having to relearn how to walk following the devastating collision, which has also left her experiencing persistent headaches. Yet she has also expressed her profound gratitude that not only did she survive, but her unborn child did too, allowing her to deliver 'miracle' daughter Ava on 27 November.
Plea for Slower Speed
Chloe, from Daventry, explained that her friend had arranged to meet Schofield at the unauthorised gathering after connecting with him on Snapchat just a day earlier, while she herself was eight weeks pregnant. She recalled: 'I didn't personally know Jack. The other girl, my friend in the crash with me, knew Jack. It was a car meet, we went, I didn't really want to go. I was eight weeks pregnant. She said we were meeting this Jack person that she'd met on Snapchat a day before.'
'We went to the location and Jack was there. I made a clear point that I was pregnant there and then. I said I'm not getting in his car if he ever asks me, there was no way. My friend said "come on, Chloe, let's go" but I felt sick. He was like, "come on, lets go". I gave in as they were pestering me. He went up the track and started speeding and I asked him to slow down and not to show off. I did see the speeds. When I felt the car go too fast I asked him to slow down. I don't know how he did over 120mph. I don't remember much after that.'
Trapped in Burning Car
Single mother Chloe found herself trapped inside the vehicle following the collision, while Jack and the other passenger managed to get out. According to Chloe, the boy racer seemed more concerned about his damaged motor - paying her no attention while she remained stuck inside. She continued: 'I was in backseat passenger side. They pulled his door off and he was sat there crying because his window was broken, saying "oh my god, look at my windows". I was still in the car while it was on fire, which was horrible. All he cared about was the window. He had fresh star lights installed so he was more upset about ruining those.'
'Everyone around us was recording it as the car was fire, but they didn't realise I was in there. Loads of people got bottles of water to try and put it out but it kept relighting. My phone actually rang the police, it sort of saved me.'
Miracle Birth
Despite her fears of losing her baby, Chloe successfully delivered Ava, who weighed 7lb 8oz, at Northampton General Hospital. Her daughter is now five months old. She recalled: 'When I was rushed into hospital I thought I'd had a miscarriage, I kept telling them to check on me. I was trapped in there and I thought we were both going to die. They reassured me quite quickly, but those first few minutes were horrible. I was just saying "oh my god, thank god". I wouldn't stop telling them I had a miscarriage until they did tests and reassured me.'
'They said if I was in the car any longer I would've lost her, because all I inhaled was smoke. From the videos the fire and smoke was massive. In hospital, I kept having regular scans, and then I ended up having my 20-week scan in hospital as I was in there that long. On her scan she was just sat pouting, so she was all fine. When it came to the birth I was only in labour an hour, which is a miracle really. It was very smooth in the end.'
Long-term Consequences
Since the horrific collision, she's been left with enduring consequences including daily headaches, persistent back pain and visible scarring. She explained: 'I had 15 fractures to my back, two to my neck, fractured ribs, something wrong with my lung, a bleed on my heart, scar on my head and a burn on my back. And all that's at eight weeks pregnant. Apparently, the seat belt was wrapped around my neck and that's how I got the two fractures. I had to learn how to walk again. I went into hospital and they told me I had to learn to walk again. I got put in ICU and then they came in with a back brace to try help.'
'I got took out of ICU and put onto a ward, and every time I got out of bed I had to have the back brace on. It took me two weeks to be able to walk - I was literally adamant I was going to walk again. I was in hospital for two months. They had to check my baby and then I had an infection on the burn in my back. When I went home, I had a hospital bed and had carers for a few weeks. I still live with a bad back ache and they said I have postnatal trauma. I think I'm getting rehab for my back as it hurts every day. If I walk a certain distance, my legs give in. I get headaches every day, they're quite bad. Some of them are bearable now, but I do get them every day. I don't know if it's from the scar or from concussion. I've got to do more physio. My spine is lopsided too.'
Sentence and Police Comment
In April, Schofield was handed a two-year prison sentence at Northampton Crown Court after admitting guilt on two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Schofield, from Bedworth, was further banned from driving for three years and must pass an extended test before being permitted to return to the road. Following the case, Detective Constable Lee Norton of Northamptonshire Police commented: 'Unauthorised events on public roads aren't just illegal, but as this case highlights, this kind of irresponsible behaviour always puts lives at risk. Jack Schofield was not only fortunate to have walked away from this horrific crash relatively unscathed, but he was incredibly lucky that no-one was killed because of his stupidity that night. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for his two passengers who will have to live with both the physical and psychological trauma of this incident for the rest of their lives.'
