Pedestrian left in agony following accident on Wisbech town centre crossing
A Wisbech father trapped under a lorry after being hit on a zebra crossing has described the agony of his injuries as he pays tribute to those who helped save his life.
Zbigniew Prokopyszyn, who lives in the town with his wife and 13-year-old son, spent four days at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn following the accident near the BP garage on the Horsefair roundabout on Friday March 10.
Specialist lifting equipment had to be used to free Zbigniew from under the truck, which was being driven by a man in his 50s from West Yorkshire. Once free he was taken to the QEH where he was treated for injuries to his pelvis including cracked bones, damage to his right thigh and bruising across his torso and arm.
He said it felt like a life time waiting for the emergency services to rescue him and he has thanked a woman passer-by who showed "great courage" and went under the truck to comfort Zbigniew, who said: "Thinking about it makes me cry, she was very kind."
He paid tribute to the emergency workers who rescued him and for the care he received at the hospital, although he feels he should have been kept in longer because of the pain he is suffering.
Zbigniew. who remembers little about the accident itself, was released from the QEH at the start of the week and is on crutches and high doses of painkillers, but he said the pain is excruciating and at times is almost unbearable.
He said: "I think I was lucky the truck didn't crush me, probably because I'm overweight. I know I will recover some how, but the mental trauma is still there and the pain is the worst I have ever felt in my life - it's even worse than when I was shot in the leg during the Yugoslav war - believe me that pain was nothing compared to what I'm suffering now."
Zbigniew, who has been left unable to work at the moment, said he is planning to seek compensation for his injuries.
In the meantime he is warning other pedestrians to take care using the zebra crossing which goes across Churchill Road from the Horsefair car park to the BP garage and is also urging drivers to pay extra attention to the road and in particular the crossing as they come up to the the Freedom Bridge roundabout.
He said: "The crossing is very dangerous, drivers tend to be looking at the roundabout and are trying to get out as quickly as possible so are not paying proper attention to the pedestrian crossing.
"Many times I have seen drivers have near misses as they try to get onto the roundabout."
Commentors on a post to the community Facebook page at the time of Zbigniew's accident also suggested the crossing was dangerous with many saying they thought it was in the wrong place, and suggested it needed to be looked at.
* A police spokesperson said: "A 59-year-old man from West Yorkshire who was arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm has been released on bail until June 8.
“An investigation is ongoing.”
