KNOCKED DOWN AND LEFT FOR DEAD
A YOUNG Wexford man was left for dead on a pedestrian crossing after being knocked down by a hit-and-run driver in Clonard.
Matthew Flanagan’s mother Claire said her 21-year-old son was lucky to be alive after being hit while walking home from work on the crossing at Beechlawn, by Clonard Church, and flung into the air by the force of the impact early on Sunday morning.
Bleeding heavily from a head wound and with his leg and hip injured, Matthew told how he staggered to his feet, and tried to flag down a passing motorist for help.
He said he only vaguely saw the car that struck him - possibly a silver Jeep-style vehicle - because the incident was over in a flash.
Taken to Wexford Hospital by ambulance, he received nine staples in his scalp to close the wound.
A YOUNG Wexford man was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver and left for dead in the road in Clonard during the early hours of Sunday morning.
Matthew Flanagan’s mother Claire said her son was lucky to be alive after being hit by the car on a pedestrian crossing and flung into the air by the force of the impact.
The 21 year old was walking home from work at the Emerald Gardens to the Grove in Clonard when he was struck by what is thought to be a Jeep-style vehicle as he was on the crossing opposite Beechlawn at 2.20 a.m.
After a few seconds lying on the road, Matthew said he shakily stood up and was surprised to see blood dripping on to the road from his head.
‘I was counting my lucky stars as my legs were still working. A car passed me and I tried to wave it down, but I had blood on my hands and my head and it just drove past me,’ Matthew told this newspaper.
He then ‘walked’ home the short distance to the Grove, a journey that would normally take him five minutes. It took 20.
Matthew said his mother remained calm when he arrived home, badly injured and bleeding, and that helped him to remain calm as well.
His mother then called the emergency services and Matthew was taken to Wexford Hospital by ambulance where he received nine staples in his skull to close the wound and was treated for other bruises and abrasions.
Gardai are investigating the incident and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Claire said Matthew was almost on the other side of the road when he was hit and flew up in the air and only vaguely remembers the car, ‘possibly a boxy, silver car or Jeep’.
‘He’s just getting over the shock of it and is still on crutches, but he’s lucky to be alive,’ she said.
Claire said the driver who struck Matthew must have been aware of what happened and that she couldn’t understand how anyone could leave her son lying in the road in such a callous manner.
‘Maybe he or she just panicked,’ she said, ‘ but whatever the reason, you don’t knock somebody down like this and drive off.’