Distressing footage shows a "cowardly" banned driver run over a six-year-old girl – and flee from the scene blithely unaware.
Ashley Evans, 28, dragged the screaming child along under his new Vauxhall Astra and left her with a fractured collarbone, pelvis, and legs.
A court heard the youngster was lucky to survive the horror in Splott, Cardiff. She was unable to stand or walk for four weeks.
But Evans was today jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for five years, Wales Online says.
Sentencing the callous motorist, who had six previous convictions for driving while disqualified, Judge David Wynn Morgan said: "It is a miracle that she was not killed.
"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.
"The defendant described himself in his letter to the court as a good person. I am afraid his record rather belies that."
The CCTV clip , which has been edited to remove the moment of impact, was shown to Cardiff Crown Court.
John Warren, prosecuting, said despite being disqualified from driving, Evans bought a Vauxhall Astra from a seller in Humberside the day before the incident on May 4.
The dad, 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 "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."
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, of Splott, 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."
A doctor informed the police the girl’s injuries were "potentially life-threatening" and she was dashed to hospital.
The child had surgery the next day and a cast was fitted. The court heard she was "making a good recovery" but 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.
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."
Prosecutors said Evans had 37 previous offences on his criminal record including three for dangerous driving and six for driving while disqualified.
He 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.
"This is the end, as far as he is concerned, of driving while disqualified or breaching any court order."
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".
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