A PENSIONER feared he would die as he lay stricken in a pool of his own blood after he was sent flying by a hit and run driver.Thomas Hopkins, 75, was catapulted across the bonnet of a car as he crossed a busy road in Sudbury town centre and told his wife, Yvonne, he was dying after suffering a deep gash to his head in the horrifying accident.

Dave Gooderham

A PENSIONER feared he would die as he lay stricken in a pool of his own blood after he was sent flying by a hit and run driver.

Thomas Hopkins, 75, was catapulted across the bonnet of a car as he crossed a busy road in Sudbury town centre and told his wife, Yvonne, he was dying after suffering a deep gash to his head in the horrifying accident.

The couple, from the town, last night relived their ordeal and said they were deeply disappointed that the motorist involved, who stopped his car and got out before fleeing the scene, had failed to come forward despite police appeals.

Joining detectives in calling for the driver to give himself up, Mrs Hopkins said: “When I saw my husband in the middle of the road, I feared the worst. Tom thought so as well because he told me.

“He put his hand up to his head and all you could see was blood running through his fingers on to the road. We have been married 49 years next month and I would have been devastated if he had been more seriously injured.

“We were very scared but I think the fact the motorist did not stop and has not come forward makes it even more disappointing. We would say to him or anyone who knows anything or saw anything, please come forward.”

Mr Hopkins was initially thought to have suffered potentially life-threatening head injuries and was rushed to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds following Friday morning's collision .

But he has made a rapid recovery and the brave father-of-two, who suffered a deep gash to the top of his head, was allowed to return home from hospital a day after the accident.

Mrs Hopkins said the accident happened in an instant: “I was already across the road when I turned round to see Tom crossing and then this car, which I thought was going to stop, hit him and threw him across the bonnet.

“I think I saw the motorist stop a little bit away from the accident but when I looked again, he had driven off. Fortunately, my husband is not too bad at the moment, although he is still very shaken.”

Police, who have scanned CCTV footage and interviewed some witnesses - including the victim, last night reiterated calls for the motorist involved to come forward.

A spokesman said: “The driver of the car initially stopped and got out of the vehicle, before getting back in and leaving the scene. We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed this collision or the driver himself.”

The crash happened at about 10.15am at the junction of Gregory Street and Stour Street and brought town centre traffic to a standstill after police closed Sudbury's one-way system.

The driver, believed to be middle aged, was said to be in a silver hatchback, possibly a Seat Ibiza. Anybody with information should contact Sudbury police on 01473 613500.