Bedfordshire crash victim 'lost memory for three weeks'

A woman left in a coma after being hit by a car says the brain injuries she suffered caused a three-week memory blackout.

Alex Smith, 24, was left with bleeding on the brain, a broken collarbone and a punctured lung in the crash in Bedfordshire on 23 July 2017.

She now struggles to concentrate and still suffers regular injury pains.

Conran Kehoe, 30, was jailed on Friday for 30 months after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

After losing control of the car, he hit Ms Smith, who was walking along the pavement, then a telegraph pole and a concrete bollard, before the car came to rest on Ms Smith.

She was placed into a coma at the scene and says she still has no memory of events until two weeks after the crash.

Among the memories she has lost is her graduation ceremony, which happened six days before the collision.

Ms Smith said: "My memory is not very good. The part of my brain which was damaged is the part which controls concentration, organisation, planning, and prioritising, so I'm just not very good at doing things and starting things."

She said she now became tired very easily, and had regular neurotherapy and physiotherapy to help her recovery.

Ms Smith broke ribs and severed tendons in two fingers, which put at risk her career as an artist, although she has since regained movement.

Kehoe, of Flitwick, Bedfordshire, was jailed at Luton Crown Court last week for the crash on the A5120 between Westoning and Flitwick.

He was also disqualified from driving and will have to re-take his test after his release.

A roadside saliva test showed cannabis was in his system, and police estimated he was travelling at between 42mph and 60mph.

Ms Smith said Kehoe's actions were "stupid and selfish", and called for greater awareness of the impact of drugs on driving, even a long time after taking them.