A woman was dragged along by an SUV while her husband almost got run over after a garage forgot to take the vehicle out of ‘maintenance mode’.
Carl Midgley had taken his 2015 Range Rover Evoque to a local dealership to carry out work on its rear breaks.
The couple later picked the vehicle up together, drove home and parked in front of their property. At this point the car should automatically put the hand brake on.
Carl, 60, l had already exited the SUV and his wife was just stepping out when it began rolling back down the drive.
As their CCTV footage shows, Joanne, 63, is dragged backwards by vehicle and is forced to stumble alongside it.
Carl can then be seen running towards the car in an effort to stop it and is almost run over.
Thankfully at this point the vehicle is stopped by a flower bed border.
After the crash, Land Rover UK’s tech team inspected the car and said there was nothing wrong with it.
(Picture: Carl Midgley/Triangle News)
Instead it turned turned out the garage, Vertu Land Rover in Guiseley, near Leeds had forgotten to take it out of ‘maintenance mode’.
The couple – who are foster carers – told the MailOnline someone could easily have been killed by the incident, which happened in mid 2023.
‘I couldn’t have ever imagined this happening, but it did and it was very dangerous,’ Carl said.
‘The car had been to a Jaguar Landrover garage and when we returned we parked up, but unbeknown to us it had been left in a maintenance mode – the car usually automatically puts the handbrake on.
‘My wife was getting out and it dragged her down the drive. She was already waiting on a hip operation.’
He said the accident aggravated Joanne’s hip issues and caused problems with his back, which he’s had to have physio for.
The pair are calling on Vertu Land Rover to pay compensation for the injuries, but the dealership, who fixed the car damage caused by the accident for free, say they won’t be offering any further compensation.
Carl said the garage has essentially told them to go away.
A spokesperson for the dealership said: ‘This matter was resolved in 2023, with the customer accepting extensive goodwill gestures.
‘We are pleased that the customer is still using our services.’
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