Injured schoolboy’s blast at hit-and-run coward

A TEENAGER who was left with a broken leg after a hit-and-run outside his school has issued a desperate plea for the driver to stop hiding and “do the right thing and come forward”.

Max Dunnigan, a pupil at Stewart’s Melville College, was left lying in agony on the road after being knocked down on his way to school last month.

The driver of the car failed to stop at the scene and has still not been traced by police.

The 13-year-old, who will return to school on crutches for the first time since the accident tomorrow, today broke his silence to speak out about the ordeal for the first time.

“I’m still a bit shocked and wondering why the driver didn’t stop,” he said. “I can’t really explain how I feel, it’s just really horrible what I have been through and I just wish the driver would come forward.

“I don’t know what was going through their mind – I don’t know why you would do such a thing.”

Max, a second year pupil at Stewart’s Melville, is recovering at home in Dunfermline after surgery on a broken tibia and fibula.

He said his message to the driver was “do the right thing and come forward”.

“It’s better than hiding and knowing that you have hit a child and driven away, and not done anything about it,” he added.

Max, who often wakes up during the night feeling uncomfortable as a result of his injuries, said he was “nervous” about returning to school tomorrow, but is looking forward to seeing all his friends.

He will be allocated a “buddy” to help him get around the school and carry his bag. “I’m a bit nervous about the walking but I’m sure everything will be fine,” said Max.

“I still get pains around my ankle and swellings, and it’s really itchy. My toes are a bit puffy.”

Max’s mum Lorna Stirling, who has set up a Facebook page titled, Please Help Find Max’s Hit And Run Driver, said she was convinced the power of social media would help to trace the driver.

The 38-year-old said: “It doesn’t matter how long it takes – we will keep looking for this person to come forward. I think I will always be hopeful that one day someone will come forward and give the right information. We still can’t comprehend the fact that this is a child who has not only had to deal with the injuries and shock of it all, but also the reality that somebody hasn’t faced up to their own responsibility.

“Max still asks the question and even now he’s asking me more – ‘do you think the driver will ever be found?’. He is questioning it. I think he’s finding the realisation that maybe the driver won’t be found quite shocking.”

• www.facebook.com/PleaseHelpFindMaxsHitAndRunDriver

Police work to enhance Cctv footage

MAX’S family and the police are still appealing for a black Hackney cab driver who may have been behind the blue family car that struck Max on Queensferry Terrace to come forward.

Lorna Stirling, Max’s mum, said she was given an update on the light-coloured advertising slogan thought to have been on the side of the cab by Lothian and Borders Police yesterday, who have been working on enhancing the CCTV footage.

“It is possibly Artemis or Aberdeen and they are now going to approach all taxis with that slogan.”

Two pins were removed from Max’s leg last week and he is expected to be in cast and on crutches for at least another week or two.