A brave man who walked straight into the pub moments after being hit by a bus has revealed how he managed the feat of survival.
Simon Smith was hit from behind by an errant number 17 bus in central Reading yesterday as he walked the pavement.
You can watch the horrific crash in the footage below:
[ooyala code=”s5amtxYjE6CvzrZ9QfM-wzPAPezEJI0I” player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ auto=”true” width=”854″ height=”480″ pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l”]
Smith was dragged along the road, hitting his head on the subsequently shattered windscreen, and yet, moments later the married man dragged himself into the doorway of local drinking establishment, Purple Turtle.
The man became an instant hit online for his bravery – with many thinking he’d gone straight for a pint in the pub – but now Simon has revealed the truth behind the incident.
Simon recalled the accident for The Sun:
I came down the street, it was early morning, I’d gone to pay in a wage cheque at my bank. I make that journey every Saturday. I didn’t think anything of it. But then I heard some banging behind me and I was hit from behind.
Then you can see what happened from the CCTV. The video says it all. I didn’t tense because I didn’t know it was coming. After it I just wanted to get somewhere safe.
It’s quite funny everybody thinks I have gone for a pint. I was actually looking for a place of refuge when I went into the doorway of the pub.
But he did get to have a beer after getting discharged from hospital following checks. Simon was so stable after being hit that local police initially did not believe his tale until they saw the CCTV footage of the crash.
Simon continued:
I hadn’t lost consciousness so I knew what had happened. But the police and paramedics didn’t believe me. Originally they were all in agreement because if I had been hit by the bus, I wouldn’t be here.
I said ‘I’m sure the bus hit me’ and they kept saying ‘No you were hit by debris’. An officer then saw the CCTV at the pub and came back and said ‘I’m really sorry you were right’.
A spokesman from South Central Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 9.12am reporting a bus having hit a lamp post at the above location, and then taken down a shop canopy.”
Reading Buses said: “The incident is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation as well as an investigation by the police with whom we are working and sharing footage from our on-board CCTV.”
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.