Dorset woman describes horrific moment her leg 'exploded' in hit-and-run crash

‘It had literally popped, just like a balloon would,' says Natalie Griffiths

Natalie Griffiths

A woman has described the moment her leg “exploded” after she was severely injured in a hit-and-run by a drug driver.

Natalie Griffiths, 35, a mortgage underwriter from Christchurch in Dorset, was standing next to the boot of her car when Steven Michael Johnson crashed into her vehicle in September last year.

The 22-year-old drink and drug driver pinned Ms Griffiths between two cars with the force of the impact, crushing her legs.

"AlI remember was hearing a sickening scream and for a split second I didn't realise it was me," she told the MailOnline.

She added: “I remember glancing down and realising with complete horror that my right leg had exploded beneath me. It had literally popped, just like a balloon would."

Despite several operations, doctors were forced to amputate her right leg above the knee.

After police caught up with the driver Steven Johnson, who fled the scene of the accident, told police he was "an animal".

“First time I bought a car," he said, according to ITV News. "Got no insurance. I’m an animal. I smoke weed every day. Provisional. No insurance. I shouldn’t have driven the car,”

In a separate interview, Ms Griffiths told the broadcaster: “I just can’t understand how anybody, no matter how much trouble they might face, can run off and leave another human being lying there in that much pain and agony.”

Johnson was jailed for three years at Bournemouth Crown Court in March and has been banned from driving for five years.

At the time of the sentencing, Ms Griffiths told the Bournemouth Echo she had loved running, skiing and horse riding before she lost her leg.

She added that she avoided mirror as she had become “disgusted” with her reflection.

“I’ve got to deal with this for the rest of my life and any sentence is never going to be enough," she said. “He’ll probably be out of prison before I can run again. That really gets me down."