THE family of a teenager hit by a car driven by Wrexham footballer Neil Taylor say they do not blame the Reds star for the accident.

Lewis Storey, 13, was playing with snowballs with friends outside Acrefair Village Shop when he stepped out behind a bus and was struck by the car, driven by Wales under-21 international Mr Taylor.

Eyewitnesses saw the Ysgol Dinas Bran pupil going over the bonnet of the car on Llangollen Road, Acrefair on Tuesday afternoon.

North Wales Police stressed immediately that there was no blame attached to Mr Taylor. Lewis’s parents, Louise and Mike Storey, now face an anxious time as football fan Lewis is in hospital with serious head injuries.

Mike, 49, said the family’s thoughts were with Mr Taylor as well as with Lewis.

He said: “We don’t blame him, I think he must have been really shaken up about it.
“It’s one of those things kids do.

“We kept warning Lewis not to play near the frozen pond and then this happens.”

Speaking to the Leader at the Total Fitness gym in Wrexham where he was training yesterday, Mr Taylor said he sent his best wishes to Lewis.

He said: “It’s a shock to me but the kid is more important.

“It’s just one of those things that happens with kids going into the road.”

Lewis, described by his family as “always smiling’ and full of fun, is due to be moved from intensive care to the neurological high dependency unit at Alder Hey Children’s hospital in Liverpool.

He suffered a serious head injury but doctors hope he has not suffered any injury to his brain.

Speaking yesterday dad Mike said: “He had a scan and he is not showing any brain injuries.

“He’s had a drink out of a bottle and has opened his eyes this afternoon.

“I don’t think he’s in danger any more but he had a nasty knock.

“I said that his brothers were here and he turned his head to have a look. Each day he’s doing a bit more."

Lewis lives on Tower Hill, Acrefair, with Louise, Mike and brothers Martin, 17, and Jarred, 14.

Martin said: “My parents are upset. When it happened you always think the worst.”

Mike and Louise have been at Lewis’s bedside as they wait for him to recover.

“We keep expecting him to respond but he just wakes up and struggles a bit and goes back to sleep,” said Mike.

“He’s so polite and always smiling and has got a huge amount of friends.”

Ysgol Dinas Bran headteacher Alison Duffy said: “It’s a shock to everybody.

“Lewis is a likeable lad with lots of friends and was very badly injured.

“Everybody is rooting for him and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

A group named ‘Get Well Lewis Storey’ has been set up on Facebook, and currently has more than 600 members.