‘I thought he would die’
WITNESS TELLS HOW MAN WAS STRUCK BY CAR AFTER NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
A WOMAN has described the moment a man was hit by a car outside TBC nightclub in Batley - leaving her thinking he was going to die.
The 22-year-old from Liversedge, who did not want to be named, said she saw the incident when she was waiting for a taxi home after celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends at the Bradford Road club.
Police have said the man, in his 20s, is seriously injured in hospital following the incident at about 4.30am on New Year’s Day.
The woman described seeing men fighting in the road at about 4.30am. She said she saw men trying to fight the victim, who did not want to get involved.
She said: “He was walking across the road and a dark coloured Mercedes flew past and hit him.”
She said she thought it was a targeted attack because she believed one of the men who was trying to fight him was driving.
She said: “The car must have been doing 50mph. He just flew up in the air.
“He flew into the concrete so he was grazed all over. Blood was coming from his nose and from a cut on his head.
“I was sat holding his head, trying to stop the bleeding. I thought he was going to die.
“I was trying to keep him talking until the ambulance came. I just kept saying, how do you feel, can you feel your legs and arms, can you see anything, and he was just saying yes. It was horrible.”
She said she stayed at the scene for about 20 minutes while he was treated in the ambulance by paramedics, before she went home.
She said: “His friend was crying and couldn’t get hold of the lad’s mum. I was trying to make sure they got hold of his mum.
“It was disgusting. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I just hope he is okay. Something like that touches you. It stays in your mind.
“I wish I hadn’t gone out. To see that on New Year’s Eve is an awful way to start the new year.”
West Yorkshire Police confirmed a man had been hit by a car outside the club.
A statement said: “Police are investigating reports of a pedestrian being knocked down by a car in Batley. Officers were called at 4.41am to reports of a pedestrian being hit by a car at the junction of Bradford Road and Hick Lane.
“A male in his 20s was seriously injured and taken to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment by ambu- lance. A blue Mercedes was involved in the collision and was later recovered by the police. Enquiries are ongoing.
“Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact the police via 101 quoting crime reference number 13190000457 or information can be passed to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”