Teen robbed of dreams by motorist who skipped red light campaigns for new law Miriam Parker, 18, was at a pedestrian crossing when she was struck by car Driver went through red light and the teenager was left fighting for her life She had been hoping to go to university in September but no longer can Miriam suffered a serious brain injury and spent four weeks in intensive care She had to learn to walk, talk and eat again and underwent five operations Amin Aminullah found guilty of causing accident and received driving ban Along with her sisters she is now campaigning for a change in the law A teenager who was robbed of her dreams by a motorist who skipped a red light is campaigning for a new law to clamp down on careless drivers. Miriam Parker, 18, had been attempting to cross a road in Croydon, South London, on New Year's Day this year when she was struck by the impatient motorist and left fighting for her life. Miriam, who was hoping to attend university in September to study nursing, suffered a serious brain injury and spent four weeks in intensive care and months in a rehabilitation centre. Miriam Parker, pictured left before her accident and right today, was knocked down by a driver who skipped a red light She has had to learn to walk, talk and eat and undergone five operations - while the man that was found guilty of causing her accident received a mere four year driving ban and a £1,400 fine. The family were told that the Crown Prosecution Service did not think they could guarantee a conviction for dangerous driving - despite ignoring a red light. Magistrates were unable to impose a custodial sentence on Amin Aminullah and, along with a ban and a fine, he must pass an advanced driving test before he can regain his licence. Her mother Davina, 50, a church administrator, said the family were left 'disappointed' by the sentence. Lying in intensive care at St George's Hospital in Tooting with a toy pug under her arm. She had to undergo five operations and spent four weeks on the unit before she was moved to the head injuries ward She has described the moment she was rushed to St George's Hospital in Tooting, where she convinced her daughter would be dead. It was shocking. Her face was so black and purple and swollen I could hardly recognise her,' she told the Sunday Telegraph. We were told it was touch and go, that Miriam might not live. We were given no promises, no one could predict if she would ever regain consciousness, or if she would be left in a vegetative state. She slept in a chair in the hospital over the course of three weeks until Miriam was finally moved from the intensive care unit at the end of January and moved to the head injuries ward. Before the accident, Miriam had plans to go to university and study nursing, but now she has had to go back to school It took Miriam a while to figure out where she was and why and she admitted she couldn't remember the accident at all, and thought it might have happened on the landing of her home, fighting with one of her sisters. Through physiotherapy she gradually began to get better - learning to walk, talk and eat again and in April she was discharged to a rehabilitation centre run by The Children's Trust in Tadworth. During her time in hospital doctors had had to cut her long hair off and it was at the Trust that she made contact with charity the Little Princess Trust, who provided her with a real hair wig. She stayed there for 14 weeks before she was readmitted to St George's Hospital in August to have permanent metal plates put into her skull. In September she was discharged and went back to school but it was far from her dream of beginning a nursing course and lives at home with her mother in Carshalton, Surrey. Miriam still has some paralysis in her left hand and her right arm is numb in parts - but is still determined to get the best possible grades in her studies. Now, along with her two older sisters Kirsty, 21, a law student at University of Bristol, and Loren, 19, who is studying health and social care NVQs, Miriam is pressing for a new law to be introduced. The girls launched an online petition aimed at the Prime Minister David Cameron to introduce a new offence, of causing serious injury by careless driving, to the law. They state: 'On the 1st January 2014, our younger 17-year-old sister, Miriam, was hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing. The driver had driven through a red light. Miriam suffered a serious brain injury. She was not expected to survive. However, thanks to quick medical intervention and extensive continuing rehabilitation, she survived, albeit left permanently impaired and brain damaged. 'The effects of Miriam's accident have been life changing for all her family and friends, and most of all Miriam. She was due to go to university this year but it was put on hold. She struggles with every day things because of her disabilities. Miriam's mother Davina, 50, right, said the family were left 'disappointed' by the sentence and they are now campaigning for a change in the law after the man that knocked her over received a ban and a fine 'The driver who hit her was only charged with 'driving without due care and attention' (careless driving). Under UK law, the typical punishment for this offence is 3-9 penalty points. A ban from driving is only discretionary. Currently the law for careless driving only has two outcomes - causing death and all other results. For dangerous driving there are clauses set out, including causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which carries a maximum five year prison sentence. The sister's add: 'Our family feel that this is a huge gap in the law that needs to be filled. Why should the fortunate fact that someone survives affect the chance of the driver being disqualified? After the accident doctors had to cut off her hair and she was given a real hair wig by the Little Princess Trust If she had died he would have received a one year mandatory disqualification and our family would not have had to worry about the prospect of him getting mere points for what happened. We feel that it is time that driving offences were taken more seriously so that other families do not have to go through what we have been through. There needs to be more clarity in the law as to what constitutes "careless" as opposed to "dangerous driving," especially given the huge difference in punishment between these two offences, and a new offence of "causing serious injury by careless driving." Our family has felt incredibly let down by the justice system and we can only hope that things can improve for future victims like Miriam. Miriam may not have got the justice she deserved but we want to make sure other families do and do not have to go through what our family went through.