A FATHER-OF-TWO seriously hurt in an alleged hit-and-run crash has spoken of his ordeal.

 

John Ruby suffered serious head injuries and spent four days in a specialist head injuries unit following the rush-hour collision on a busy Bournemouth road.

 

Mr Ruby, who also suffers from a heart condition, said he has suffered from dizziness, headaches and memory loss since the accident at 9am on Tuesday May 16.

 

He said he had just left his apartment in Christchurch Road and was travelling towards Boscombe on his electric-assisted bicycle when his bike was in collision with a car.

 

He said: "One minute I was in the cycle lane, the next I was in Southampton Hospital. Police officers dealing with the accident said they thought it was a fatality at first because my injuries were so serious."

 

Mr Ruby's bicycle is designed to look like a Vespa scooter but he is not required to wear a crash helmet because it is not a motorised vehicle.

 

He still has a visible injury on his head.

 

Following the accident, police said the vehicle involved was a blue Citroen Berlingo van. They said the vehicle failed to stop at the scene of the incident but was found a short time later nearby.

 

Parts of Christchurch Road and Derby Road were closed for several hours while police carried out their investigations and officers appealed for anyone with information to call 101, quoting occurrence number 16:87.

 

A 44-year-old man arrested on suspicion of careless driving and failing to stop after an accident has been questioned by police and released under investigation.