Call Sign November 2008 - Page 22 - DAC DRIVER INJURED IN HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT!

Carlo is trapped beneath his own taxi… For those of us who are self-employed, staying healthy and able to continue working is essential. Even a few days off work due to illness can make things difficult. Imagine then, being involved in a serious accident, undergoing surgery and being unable to work for almost 2 years! Such was the case for Carlo Sorrentino (V46) who suffered multiple leg injuries and extended hospitalisation after a hit and run driver left him for dead… Carlo takes up the story: "It was 00.45 hours on March 31st 2004 and I was only a few streets away from home when my cab developed a lighting problem, which I knew I could fix easily. I stopped under a street light and sorted the problem in minutes. As I was about to close the cab bonnet, a car ploughed into the back of the cab, forcing it forward and running me over, trapping the lower half of my body under the front of my cab. As I was screaming for help, the car driver came up to me asking if I was alright and then ran off, leaving his smashed up vehicle by the roadside and me for dead. Two fire engines, an ambulance and the police were quickly on the scene. Meanwhile, I could feel myself losing consciousness. Words can’t express what my wife and daughter must have felt as they came running from our house. It looked like a scene from BBC TV’s Casualty. It took 45 minutes to free me from under the wrecked taxi. I was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, where the doctors and nursing staff were fantastic. My injuries involved a double quadriceps rupture, meaning the big muscles in my legs that straighten them to keep you upright and standing, were ripped off their anchorages at the bones. I was in hospital for four weeks and in plaster casts from hip to	DAC DRIVER INJURED IN HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT!
	Out of hospital but a long way from recovery Inset: Carlo now and close to normal Carlo now and close to normal
	ankle, unable to put any weight on my legs. I then spent a further eight weeks at home, my wife doing absolutely everything for me. The only thing that kept me from going mad was visits from my cab-driving friends. Eventually, the plaster casts were removed and that’s when the pain really started and it was difficult even to stand. I literally had to learn to walk again. All this time, the police were trying to trace the errant driver. They eventually arrested and charged him with driving with undue care and attention and failing to stop after an accident. At the second court hearing, he changed his plea to guilty and received a four month prison sentence, Ł500 fine and 12 month driving ban. Unable to pay the fine, he spent an extra day at Her Majesty’s accommodation!	It was 18 months before I got back to work, and then only for a few hours a day due to the pain in my legs. Steadily and over time, I built up my endurance and am still doing so. It was around this time that my wife Francesca developed cancer, undergoing 12 months of chemo treatment. So it was my turn to nurse her through another difficult time. So now I say a big ‘thank you’ to my wife and children who helped me get through these tough times. On a lighter note, I recently joined Dial-a-Cab and it has made a big difference to my working day. I now enjoy going to work and meeting other drivers. It may sound trite, but believe me it’s true; if you have your health, you have won the Lottery! Nobody knows what is around the corner…"

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