‘I’m lucky and want to forget about hit and run’

THE pedestrian knocked down by a hit-and-run driver in Cardiff city centre says he is concentrating on putting the incident behind him after the banned driver was jailed.

John Dare, 45, from Barry, was mown down in Wood Street last month by Mohammad Yousuf Arshad, 23, who was speeding through the city centre trying to get away from police.

Arshad, of Cathays Terrace in Cardiff, was jailed on Tuesday for three years and banned from driving for six and a half years.

Following the sentencing, train driver Mr Dare said he was lucky he can still walk following the terrifying hit and run.

He said: “I’m glad the matter has been dealt with by the courts and I’m now going to concentrate on putting it behind me and getting back to full health.

“I think I am very lucky to still be alive and to not have been paralysed.

“I’ll still have to have a lot more hospital visits and physio so it has had a massive impact on my life.”

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Arshad was driving along Westgate Street on July 26 when a police officer in a marked vehicle pulled his car over to carry out a check.

Arshad sped away from the officer, squeezing between other vehicles to try to escape.

He drove over the pavement into Wood Street and was breaking the speed limit when he struck Mr Dare, who was about to cross the road near the Vue Cinema.

A grey BMW was later found abandoned nearby.

Mr Dare suffered severe head injuries and a broken shoulder and underwent major surgery.

He said he was “severely lucky” not to have brain damage.