A “cowardly” and “inhuman” driver ran over a six-year-old girl who had fallen off a scooter then fled from the scene before the police arrived.

Ashley Evans, 28, who had six previous convictions for driving while disqualified, dragged the child along under his new Vauxhall Astra – leaving her with a fractured collarbone, pelvis, and legs.

She was pinned under the vehicle and medics warned her life was in danger following the crash, which was caught on camera in horrific footage which her family have agreed to release. We have edited the clip to remove the moment of the impact.

Witnesses described her "screaming" and "crying".

The crash was captured on CCTV:

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Sentencing Evans at Cardiff Crown Court Judge David Wynn Morgan said: “It is a miracle that she was not killed.”

The incident happened in Moorhead Close in Splott , Cardiff, at around 7.30pm on Saturday, May 4.

John Warren, prosecuting, said despite being disqualified from driving Evans bought a Vauxhall Astra from a seller in Humberside the day before the incident.

Evans, who was most recently disqualified from driving in April 2018 for two years, asked someone else to collect the vehicle for him.

But prosecutors said he drove it on May 4 “in defiance of the court order”.

The court heard the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was playing on a scooter with friends in a parking area.

Mr Warren said: “She fell off the scooter onto her front on the road. The defendant drove straight over [her] as she was lying prone on the ground. She was dragged along.”

(Image: South Wales Police)

He told the court a taxi driver approached the Astra as Evans was getting out and told him there was a child under the car.

The defendant was heard to say: “What can we do? What can we do?”

Prosecutors said Evans, who appeared to be “in shock”, asked the taxi driver to move the car forward.

Mr Warren added: “The defendant drove the vehicle forward. The little girl was screaming.”

The court heard Evans stopped the car and members of the public came over to help lift the back of the vehicle and get her out.

The bottom of the car was low to the ground and she was stuck near the fuel tank and exhaust.

Mr Warren said: “She had suffered serious injuries. She was screaming and crying.”

The court heard her parents arrived at the scene as she was pulled out and her mother fainted. The child’s legs and hips appeared to be broken.

Witnesses described Evans “shoot off” as soon as she was freed “as if he wanted to get away”.

Mr Warren said: “He was thinking more about himself than the little girl he had seriously injured.”

The incident was caught on CCTV which was played in court. The prosecutor said: “It is graphic and may be upsetting for members of the public.”

(Image: Rob Lloyd)

When the police arrived at around 7.50pm Evans had left the scene. A doctor informed the police the girl’s injuries were “potentially life-threatening”.

She was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and found to have fractures to her collarbone, pelvis, both thigh bones, and right lower leg.

The child had surgery the next day and a cast was fitted. The court heard she was “making a good recovery” but her parents were told she could not stand or walk for four weeks.

She is still an inpatient at the hospital and there are no suspected head or spinal injuries but she is still being monitored.

Evans handed himself in at Cardiff Bay Police Station after being contacted by officers. He was arrested and confirmed it was him driving the car at the time.

He said he had “100% looked” at the road ahead and did not see anything at all.

The defendant told police he thought he had driven over a scooter as he heard “metal on metal” but had no idea he had run over a child.

He said he did not realise until he got out of the car and saw a child underneath then left the scene because he “panicked”, knowing he was a disqualified driver.

Prosecutors said he would not tell the police where the Astra was or hand over his mobile phone.

In a victim personal statement read out in court the child’s father said: “My wife and I feel so lucky that she is still alive.

“I cannot understand how this happened. It is very upsetting. I have cried a lot.”

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He said they were told she would not be able to stand or walk for four weeks and the doctors could not give a long-term prognosis for her legs.

The father said: “The incident left my six-year-old daughter in hospital with serious injuries. She suffered major broken bones in both thighs. Her face was severely bruised and swollen.”

He added it was sad she did not want her friends to visit her in hospital because of how she looked even though they really wanted to see her.

Prosecutors said Evans had 37 previous offences on his criminal record including three for dangerous driving and six for driving while disqualified.

Evans, from Moorhead Close in Splott, admitted causing serious injury while driving while disqualified , driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, and failing to stop.

Kevin Seal, defending, said: “He is a parent himself. He understands the hurt he has caused the family.”

He told the court his client was coming home from work at the time and drove off because of “the sheer panic and horror of what he had done”.

Mr Seal added: “This is the end, as far as he is concerned, of driving while disqualified or breaching any court order.”

The judge said: “The defendant described himself in his letter to the court as a good person. I am afraid his record rather belies that.”

He told Evans: “You ran her over and dragged her a short distance beneath the car. You drove the car away without remaining at the scene. Your behaviour was cowardly and inhuman.”

Evans was jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for five years. He must pass an extended re-test before being allowed behind the wheel again.

Speaking after the hearing the child’s father said he felt “really disappointed” Evans had been caught so many times before and believed he had “not learnt his lesson”.