New mother suffers M40 panic attack after car breakdown as RAC calls stranded baby ‘non-priority’
A new mother suffered a panic attack near the M40 after breakdown provider RAC informed her it would take six hours for help, treating her newborn as ‘non-priority’.
Jessica Townsend Jones, 27, was driving from Mid Wales to Kent with her three-month-old baby Ottilie on February 14 when her car suddenly lost power.
He felt “like the brakes had been applied” and had difficulty accelerating.
The bar manager, who is currently on maternity leave, had to shoulder a tough shoulder after missing the service queue at the Cherwell Valley Interchange.
The mother-of-one said she contacted breakdown cover provider RAC and was initially assured that she would be treated as a priority.
However, a link later sent by the rescue service stated that the estimated wait time was six hours.
Mrs Townsend Jones, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, immediately called the RAC again to express her concern about being stranded with Ottilie.
He was told he wasn’t given priority because he wasn’t in the live lane.
The response that caused her to “have a panic attack.”
Mrs Townsend Jones said: “I was just panicking; my daughter’s nose had turned bright red, her cheeks were so cold, it was awful. I was absolutely hysterical, it was horrible.”
She added: “I said to the RAC: ‘I don’t understand how you don’t see us as a priority. I understand I’m not in the live lane but my baby can’t regulate his temperature, I can’t feed him – six hours isn’t good enough.’
“I felt hopeless and terrified. I was so scared.”
While Mrs Townsend Jones was stranded, her husband, who was at home, contacted National Highways. Patrol personnel arrived immediately and stayed on the roadside with him.
After two and a half hours in the “freezing cold”, Mrs Townsend Jones and baby Ottilie were taken to the services by a third-party rescue service arranged by National Highways.
Ms Townsend Jones believes she should have been given priority given she was traveling alone with a baby and says the incident “shattered her confidence”.
He is now trying to switch fault providers and says: “I don’t feel safe getting RAC cover.”
An RAC spokesman said: “We apologized to Ms Townsend-Jones for not being able to reach her sooner and communicate more clearly.
“We are covering all expenses with an additional gesture of good faith to apologize for a very stressful situation.”
A National Highways spokesman said: “We want everyone who uses our roads to return home safe and sound, and any breakdown is an unwelcome inconvenience. Our advice is to plan ahead, check your vehicle before setting off and ensure you have provisions on board in case your journey does not go to plan.”
They added that teamwork ensured a “happy ending” in this case.
