‘Hit and run crash has ruined my life’

At around 6.30am on the morning of Friday 28th October, 37-year-old father-of-two Darren Bembridge was cycling to work just like it was any other day.

“I remember getting up that morning and checking my bike to see if the lights were still working,” said Darren. “It was a clear morning, but it was dark.”

Then, as he was cycling up the A159 Thonock Road in Blyton, a silver Volvo 850 hit him before leaving the scene.

“I just thought ‘what the hell’ as I was thrown about 20-30 ft through the air. I remember putting my arms up to break my fall.”

“I remember waking up and I could see two bones sticking out - I just kept thinking that I’d lost my foot.”

He continued: “I managed to phone the ambulance on my mobile and then left my wife a message telling her that I was dying. When the ambulance arrived they couldn’t get me out of the hedge - it was just bedlam.”

Darren was then taken to Scunthorpe Hospital and treated for a broken pelvis and leg, and had surgery to put a titanium plate in his ankle.

He is now in a wheelchair.

“They say I won’t walk for at least two years - that’s if I ever walk again,” said Darren.

“This has just completely changed my life. You don’t realise how much you value your limbs and mobility. Now I am disabled.”

Darren and wife Sarah have a young son and daughter, aged just three and five.

“My children are scared,” said Darren. “They haven’t been eating or sleeping and this has affected my whole family.”

He added: “I’d really like to thank everyone at Scunthorpe Hospital on ward 11, as well as the surgeons and the lady in resuscitation who held my hand through everything.”

His wife Sarah said: “I can’t describe the impact that this has had - it’s like being hit with a sledgehammer.”

“I’m a carer for a living, but I never thought I’d have to do it for Darren. The little ones used to love cuddling and playing with him but now they can’t and they don’t know what to do.”

A Lincs Police spokesman said: “We found the silver Volvo, with the registration N79 REE, in Blyton, and investigations are ongoing as to who owns it. We would encourage anyone with any information to come forward as soon as possible.”

If you have any info you can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.