An ex-footballer has opened up about the hit-and-run that almost claimed his life.
Former Livingston player Scott McLaughlin recalls being unable to move at the side of the road in Glasgow city centre after a driver sped through a red light and hit him at high speed last Thursday night.
The 37-year-old, who retired last year after a 20-year career in the game, was taking his usual running route between Paisley and Glasgow when he was struck on North Street.
He told Sunday Mail Sport : “I’ve done the route a million times. There are three lanes at that particular crossing.
“In the lane closest to me, the car stopped. In the far away lane, the car had stopped as well.
“The lights had gone red so I went. But the guy in question obviously made a decision from far back that he was going through it - and he’s f***ing nailed me.
“He came from nowhere and has absolutely skelped me up in the air.
“Unbelievably, after I hit the ground, I got straight up and walked. There must have been adrenaline still inside my body.
“But the next thing I knew, I was sitting down with people around me. A woman was there, saying she was a nurse.
“Then a guy came over who was a doctor. He got his phone out to flash my eyes and make sure I was alright.
“But all of this time, the blood was p***ing out of my head.
“At that point, the driver was still there but I was out of the game. I can’t remember anything he said.
“All I know is, one of the witnesses was going off her head at him. She was shouting, asking why he’d flown through a red light at that speed.
“I was just in a daze.
“And the main thing going through my head was: 'I wonder if I’m paralysed.' I just wanted to get up and walk to make sure my legs were still working.
He added: “In that split second before the car hit me, I thought I was dead,.
I didn’t think when I woke up that day, I might die. But it’s that simple.
“I’m genuinely happy to be alive because I should be dead, I know that.”
Incredibly, McLaughlin spent four nights in hospital - one in their high dependency ward - before being discharged on Monday.
The near-death experience has certainly given him perspective, as well as three cracked ribs and a bruised lung.
But it’s a measure of his character and mental resilience that he’s already itching to get back out running again.
He said: “I got a real fright. In fact, I still can’t believe it actually happened to me.
“But I haven’t been put off running. I have no doubts. In fact, if I could go for a run right now, I would.
“I’ve realised that life is too short now. I know I should be dead but I’m not.
“So I have to try and enjoy every day I’ve got now.
“When that car hit me and I went up in the air, I thought that was it. I thought: ‘How can I survive this’?
“I could have ended up paralysed or in a wheelchair, anything.
“I actually can’t believe how lucky I was.”
