A GIRL is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being knocked down by a car on Thursday night.

The 11-year-old was injured as she tried to cross the A66 in Darlington, near the Brick Train sculpture.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened at around 6.05pm on February 7.

The girl, who lives in Darlington, was attempting to cross the unlit section of the road with another person. The first pedestrian made it across the carriageway, but the girl was struck by an Audi A6 travelling northbound between Morton Park and Great Burdon.

She was taken by ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, with life-threatening injuries including a fractured skull, broken arm and various internal injuries.

Her condition was this morning described as being stable and she is expected to undergo surgery later today.

The driver of the Audi, who is in his late 30s and from the Eaglescliffe area, was uninjured.

No other vehicles were involved in the incident and the driver of the Audi was alone in the car.

A section of the A66 was closed for more than four hours to allow access for the emergency services and while accident investigators examined the scene.

Sergeant Mark Sheppard, of the road policing unit, said: “An 11-year-old girl has suffered serious injuries and we would like to appeal to anyone who has information about what happened to get in touch with us.

“In particular, we would like to hear from any driver who was on the A66 at the time and saw what happened or has any dashcam footage.

“The incident happened right opposite the Brick Train and we would also like to hear from any pedestrians who were in the area and might have information which could help our inquiry”.

  • Anyone with information is asked to call Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 0367 of February 7, or alternatively call the accident investigations unit directly on 0191-3752159.