A34 pedestrian, 28, cheats death after ’60mph crash’ left him looking like this
A pedestrian has cheated death after being struck by a car on the A34. Kieran Hogan has remained in the Royal Stoke University Hospital[1] ever since being hit by the car in a '60mph' collision.
The 28-year-old had been walking from Newcastle town centre to Kidsgrove to fetch his ID from a friend's house. But the trek turned into a nightmare when he attempted to cross the junction of Newcastle Road and Clough Hall Drive, in Talke[2], at 6.22pm on March 11.
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Kieran, of Cobridge[3], told StokeonTrentLive: "I was up Newcastle trying to sort out stuff with the Jobcentre and my bank. It turned out I needed ID which I'd left at my mate's house. So I decided to walk across.
I walked up the A34 but I ended up getting a bit lost. I was asking people for directions and getting sent all over the shop.
"It reached the late afternoon and I remember coming up to this steakhouse. I'd never seen it before but it was the Miller & Carter in Talke.
I went onto the car park to ask for directions again. After I'd been told which way to go, I stepped off onto the A34 again.
"The next thing I knew, there were these bright lights coming straight at me out of nowhere. Then I felt the impact.
It's hard to explain. I used to get bullied a bit in school. It felt like when someone punches you in the face really hard.
Except that kind of blunt pain is all over you instead. Advertisement Advertisement
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"I remember waking up on the floor with this red box around my head to stop me moving my neck. There were a bunch of paramedics crowding around me saying that I was lucky to be alive.
I couldn't see what was happening. I thought I was a goner. I remember squeezing the paramedic's hand because I thought I was going to die.
"It all just happened so fast.
Apparently it was a 60mph impact. I remember hearing the lady who'd hit me with her car. She was panicking and asking if I was dead.
She kept saying she was sorry, bless her. But it's my fault. I should have been looking where I was going.
I hope she's doing okay."
Kieran has had several surgeries at the Royal Stoke.
"My injuries are making it hard to do things at the minute," Kieran explained. "Normal stuff like having a wash or going to the toilet is impossible on my own. But luckily the nurses are really good. I've had to have plates in my arm to put the bones back together.
It had been snapped in half. I've had plates in my leg and the wound stapled up. The top of my spine is fractured.
I've broken my sternum and five of my ribs. It hurts to breathe. Advertisement
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"My face is all messed up too.
It's like something out of a horror show. I'm normally a cheeky, happy kind of guy who makes lots of TikTok videos and music stuff. So when I look in the mirror right now it makes me really sad.
"Thankfully all my injuries should heal.
The nurses say it's difficult to know how long it should take because everyone is different. They say it depends on how well I get on with my mobility. So I might be in here for a long time.
I can move my right leg now but I can't wiggle my toes that much. It's mad."
Brave Kieran has remained in good spirits - and is now looking forward to making a complete recovery.
He added: "It definitely makes you appreciate things. I keep thinking about how rubbish it would have been if I had died that night.
What a way to go out. I'm really lucky that isn't what happened. My sister says she hopes it has knocked some sense into me.
I'm glad to be alive. I just want to go home now." Advertisement
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Staffordshire Police are appealing for witnesses following the collision.
They should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 683 of March 10.
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