A woman who was left paralyzed and brain damaged after falling from a van when her then-boyfriend tried to kidnap her has said her first word in three years.
Angel Lynn, now 22, was abducted from the street by Chay Bowskill in Rothley, Leicestershire, in the UK in September 2020 after the pair had an argument.
She was later found seriously injured on the carriageway of the A6 near Loughborough, Leicestershire, after falling from the vehicle which had been traveling at around 60mph.
Now, her mother Nikki Lynn has revealed that Angel has said her first word in three years - saying "mum" when she recently visited her in hospital.
Nikki revealed during an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain: "She said it the first time and I just couldn't believe it. I thought I've got to get it on camera, because sometimes she doesn't always do things a second time. I asked her to do it again and she did it straight away.
"I just walked in and she was groaning, so I said to her: 'Angel, you know if you're making those sort of noises you must be able to say something'.
"And that's when I just started making noises myself and she just came out with it. I had no warning or anything that she was going to speak. I never thought she would speak again."
Prior to saying her first word, Angel had been communicating with her family via improvised sign language, which was shown in a recent Channel 4 documentary about her case.
It comes after Angel managed to stand for the first time in May, following the harrowing ordeal at the hands of her boyfriend, who was 20 at the time.
Chay Bowskill is now serving a 12-year prison sentence for kidnapping, coercive and controlling behavior, and perverting the course of justice.
Angel's family had revealed how she had changed after their relationship began, including wearing less tight-fitting clothing or make-up, and even wearing her hair differently.
Her father, Patrick Lynn, added in the documentary: "Angel always wanted to be a forensic scientist and work for the police, she was very ambitious. But when she met Chay all ambitions went down the drain."
During their relationship, Bowskill would send Angel abusive text messages calling her a 'stupid c***', 'b****', and a 'divvy little s**g' when he didn't get his way.
CCTV caught the moment Angel was forced into a van by Bowskill and his accomplice Rocco Sansome, who was driving the vehicle, before she fell out and was found by horrified members of the public.
Bowskill was initially jailed for seven and a half years before his sentence was later increased to 12 years, of which he must serve at least two thirds, while Sansome received 21 months.
Featured image credit: Getty Images
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