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'LUCKY TO BE ALIVE'

Shocking moment teen, 15, is struck by hit-and-run driver while parkour training as mum releases distressing pic of her son in hospital

The schoolboy was left bed ridden and fitted with a neck brace and head support after he was hit by the motorist

THIS is the shocking moment a teen freerunner was thrown across a road after being struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Jack Salvage’s mum has now released a heartbreaking photo of her 15-year-old son bedridden in hospital in a desperate bid for the driver to come forward.

 A picture of Jack Salvage in hospital following the hit and run has been released by his mum in an effort to trace the driver
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A picture of Jack Salvage in hospital following the hit and run has been released by his mum in an effort to trace the driverCredit: Solent News

Schoolboy Jack was out on a parkour training run with two friends when they ran out into the road and CCTV shows he was hit.

The impact threw his body to the side of the road, where he lay unconscious for several minutes.

In a shocking video, footage shows the moment he is struck - as well as the aftermath, where the driver of the silver vehicle briefly stops, before continuing on their way.

Police are also appealing for anyone who recognises the car - thought to be a Mercedes or BMW - to come forward.

Jack's mother Gemma-Louise Salvage, 34, admits the driver may not have been culpable for the collision, but she just wants them to come forward.

She said: "He's extremely lucky. I want the driver to be caught, but I'm just thankful Jack is alive to be honest.

"The driver didn't really have a chance to stop, but they really should have stopped once they realised they had hit a child."

Jack - who admits he didn't see the car coming - has since made a remarkable recovery.

The incident happened on a residential road in Newhaven, East Sussex, on Monday December 19, at around 8.20pm - and Jack He spent a night at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, East Sussex, where he had a CT scan on his body and was kept in intensive care overnight.

Incredibly, he suffered no broken bones but is still feeling the effects after his release - with regular headaches and pains in his legs.

 Jack can be seen on the CCTV lying on the side of the road, where he lay unconscious for several minutes
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Jack can be seen on the CCTV lying on the side of the road, where he lay unconscious for several minutes
 The driver of the briefly stops, before moving away from the scene
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The driver of the briefly stops, before moving away from the scene

Jack also revealed that a paramedic informed him he was just "two or three inches" from death because the impact was not quite with the middle of the car bonnet.

Had that been the case, he would have been thrown straight down the road instead of to the side - meaning the vehicle may well have run him over.

He said: "I don't remember much really, but we went for a run and I didn't pay much attention to the roads.

"My mate ran straight in front of me, he got across and so I sprinted after him.

"He shouted 'Car' and before I realised, the car smashed into me and I hit the car bonnet.

"I think I hit my head on the bonnet, and I don't remember much after that at all until I woke up on the floor unconscious.

"I woke up and I couldn't feel my legs, but I had a lucky escape. My mate was asking: 'Jack, are you alright? You've just been hit by a car.'"

He added: "I got rushed to hospital where they put a back brace, head brace, neck brace and pelvic supporter on me.

"The paramedic said to me that if I had been hit literally two or three inches into the middle of the car, I'd probably be dead.

"But somehow I managed to land on the side of the road as I was hit towards the edge of the car.

"I landed partly on the grass, but I could have been thrown forwards and run over again, so I was really lucky."

 Jack Salvage was out on a parkour training run with two friends when they ran out into the road
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Jack Salvage was out on a parkour training run with two friends when they ran out into the roadCredit: Solent News
 Stepfather Luke Watson, mum Gemma-Louise Salvage and Jack Salvage prior to his injury
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Stepfather Luke Watson, mum Gemma-Louise Salvage and Jack Salvage prior to his injuryCredit: Solent News

Since his release from hospital, Jack returned to A&E two nights later with severe headaches, and was tested for a bleed on the brain and given more painkillers.

He said: "I've started parkour, and I was running to get my stamina up for it."

The whole sequence of events has been captured on CCTV from a nearby house, which police have released to help with the investigation.

Roads policing officer PC Gary Douglas from Sussex Police, said: "We wish to trace the driver of the car involved and also to speak to anyone who may have seen what happened or who has other relevant information."

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