A MAN is fighting for his life after he was hit by a car and thrown 50 feet along the road during a police chase through Deane.

The 37-year-old victim, from Bolton, is now in hospital with a life-threatening head injury after the hit-and-run in Wigan Road at about 11.40am today.

A light blue Vauxhall Astra, which was being chased by police, fled the scene after hitting the man while attempting to overtake a bus on the pelican crossing near the junction with Bankfield Street.

It is thought that the car was going through a red light when it hit the man, who was thrown into the air and about 50 feet along the road before landing outside the A’la Pizza takeaway.

The car was later found abandoned in Wordsworth Avenue, Leigh, but police have so far been unable to find the driver or any passengers.

Witnesses have spoken of their horror and said they saw the Astra being chased by a police van.

A woman who was travelling to work in Westhoughton on the Stagecoach 540 service overtaken by the Astra said: “It was scary - not something you want to see and I am a bit shaken.

“The blue Astra came flying past us just as a guy was crossing the road and it has just hit him.


MORE:


“A police van then came flying past the bus.”

She added: “I did not see him as I was sitting on the right side.

“I just saw the car and then the man lying in the road.”

An air ambulance went to the scene, along with an ambulance and rapid response vehicle, according to a North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) spokesman.

A doctor accompanied the injured man to Salford Royal Hospital.

Police have referred the incident to the  Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as there was “an element of police pursuit" involved, according to a spokesman.

He said: "A 37-year-old man from Bolton is in hospital with a serious head injury.

“It looks as if the car has driven through a set of red lights.

He added: “A decision on who investigates this will be made in the next 24 hours.”

A roofer from Bury, who was working on a house nearby at the time and wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was on a roof and saw the car flying by.

“He went all the way from the Pelican crossing to outside the takeaway.”

The road was cordoned off and closed in both directions, with bus routes diverted through Hulton and Daubhill, while police investigated.

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

The Bolton News:

The Bolton News:

The Bolton News: