A PEDESTRIAN who had to jump clear of Craig Potter's out of control car today told how he was lucky to be alive.Pat Keohane, 49, who lives in the Old Stoke area of Ipswich, was walking to his workplace in Duke Street when Mr Potter's vehicle careered into his friend, Andy Scarlett.

A PEDESTRIAN who had to jump clear of Craig Potter's out of control car today told how he was lucky to be alive.

Pat Keohane, 49, who lives in the Old Stoke area of Ipswich, was walking to his workplace in Duke Street when Mr Potter's vehicle careered into his friend, Andy Scarlett.

He said he and Mr Scarlett had crossed over Key Street because building work meant the footpath on the opposite side of the road had been closed off.

Mr Keohane said: “Andy was walking in front of me and he said he would take the blow if anything happens - he was just messing around.

“We crossed over and then this car came straight for us. It didn't seem to brake or swerve, it just came straight towards us.

“I managed to jump out of the way at the last second and it went straight into Andy.”

In the aftermath of the crash Mr Keohane called the emergency services and remembers seeing blood running from under the car.

Mr Keohane said: “Me and my mate went to see Andy in hospital that afternoon.

“We stayed there a couple of hours and we both said we didn't think he was going to make it through the night.

“I have known him for years and I couldn't even recognise him.

“He had about eight tubes coming out of his neck.”

Mr Scarlett suffered two broken legs, a blood clot on the brain and internal bleeding.

Mr Keohane said his friend, who also lives in the Old Stoke area of Ipswich, is now deaf in one ear and in a wheelchair.

He spent several days at Addenbrooke's Hospital before he was moved to intensive care in Ipswich.

Mr Scarlett, who is in his 40s, does not know if he will ever walk again and has to have round-the-clock care.

It is unlikely he will ever be able to go back to his job as a ground worker for Fairview homes and according to Mr Keohane he must still await results of further scans and X-rays to ascertain if he has any damage to his brain.

Mr Keohane added: “He just lies in bed or on the sofa and lifts himself into the wheelchair - that is all he can do.

“We thought the bloke that did it would get a bit longer, maybe two or three years. He probably would have got longer if he had killed him - he wasn't far off killing him though.”