Police officer feared he would ‘never see his two little girls ever again’ after drink-driver crashed into him

A police officer feared he would "never see his two little girls ever again” after a drink-driver crashed into him and left him fighting for his life.

PC Stephen Wales was investigating a disturbance at a pub when Karolina Serafin, 25, mounted a curb and pinned him against his van.

Serafin was more than double the drink-drive limit and also struck two pedestrians in the same incident, who sustained “horrific injuries”.

‘I thought that I would never see my two little girls ever again’

PC Wales, a father of two, said he knew straight away that his injuries were serious when he saw “blood pouring” from his right leg.

He said: “I could feel blood pouring from my right leg, and as I looked towards my right leg, it was bent the wrong way.

"At that point, I thought that I would never see my two little girls ever again.

“I’m a father, and that’s when I thought it was really serious.”

What happened in the crash

The crash happened on July 10 this year, when the officer’s eye was drawn to an incident in the early hours of the morning outside a pub in Wakefield, South Yorkshire.

PC Wales said: “On Sunday 11 July, 2021, I was on routine patrol in Wakefield City Centre, covering the night-time economy.

“At 1:24am, I stumbled across an incident outside the Black Bull Pub, a public order incident.

“As I parked my patrol vehicle, which was a police van, I exited that vehicle and no sooner had I grabbed hold of the person, I was struck by an almighty bang.

“I was thrown 20 to 30 feet into the middle of the road from the pavement.

PC Wales soon realised that he had been hit by a speeding vehicle and that two nearby pedestrians were also injured.

“After the initial impact, I came round and realised I’d been struck by a car at quite a significant speed.

“Laid before me were two members of the public who had sustained horrific injuries also that evening.”

‘I knew my injuries were very severe’

In the minutes that followed, the police officer said he recognised that his wounds could be potentially life-threatening.

He said: “I initially knew at the scene that my injuries were very severe.

“I could feel blood pouring from my right leg, and as I looked towards my right leg, it was bent the wrong way.

“At that point I thought that I would never see my two little girls ever again.

“I’m a father, and that’s when I thought it was really serious.”

Officer required 24 hours of surgery

Since the crash, the officer has required 24 hours of surgery, where he has had a metal plate and 12 screws in his left leg and 11 pins inserted in his right leg.

His right leg was the most severely affected as it suffered muscle and tissue damage that will leave it disfigured for the rest of his life.

He will also have to undergo a further 8-12 months of physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

But incredibly, he is defying doctors’ expectations and is expected to make a full recovery.

Sadly, the two pedestrians who were also struck down alongside PC Wales each required one of their legs to be amputated.

Serafin drank neat vodka before driving

Serafin, of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, admitted three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years and eight months on November 8.

During her sentencing, prosecutor Andrew Dallas said that Serafin had gone to a flat in Alverthorpe Road hours before the smash, where she had been drinking neat vodka.

After heading to a party at a neighbour’s house, she drank more but got into an argument with the householder.

She was described as slurring, unsteady on her feet and "all over the place" when she then grabbed her car keys and got behind the wheel.

CCTV played to the court showed her heading along Alverthorpe Road and onto Westgate when she took the bend wide and veered into the kerb.

She was travelling at an average of nearly 37.8 mph on the 30 mph stretch, the court heard.

Serafin suffered head injuries herself and failed to provide a roadside breath test.

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