Man says he was hit by 80mph car and it 'saved his life'

How will you react when a man says that he was hit by a speeding car, but it saved his life?

Tommy Walden, a 35-year-old man, and his 28-year-old girlfriend Bridget Wall, were driving back home from a date night in Watford when their car had a problem. They noticed a blinking light in their Volvo V60 car, indicating an issue with the boot.

Tommy pulled over on the side of the M1 near Toddington to check the boot and fix it. But, while he was getting back into the car, another vehicle crashed into them at high speed, throwing Tommy onto the motorway.

Bridget, an influencer, from Watford, Hertfordshire, said: "As he was getting back in a car hit into the back of us and threw Tommy into the first lane of the motorway. We were very shaken."

"Tommy took me out for a date and we were on our way back. The boot light was blinking so we pulled up on the hard shoulder. Our hazard lights were on," she said.

Tommy got hurt badly. Despite broken ribs and a punctured lung, Tommy survived. They were taken to a Watford hospital where he started coughing up blood the next day.

He said, "I don't like thinking about it. It sends shivers through me. A lorry could have hit me. I could have been dead. I started making a gurgling noise and coughed up blood. They found a lump on my lung. If it's cancer, they'll have got it early."

Bridget got some bruises but is okay. 

But the accident had an unexpected outcome as doctors discovered a lump on his lung that might be cancerous. He believes the crash saved his life by revealing the lump early. Bridget said that without the accident, they might not have caught it in time.

Tommy had previously battled bowel cancer in 2021 and received treatment for testicular cancer in December 2023. The couple had been looking forward to a fresh start when the accident occurred on February 25, 2024.

Tommy says, "It's scary to think about. I could've died."

He is waiting to see if the lump is cancer and if his other cancer has spread.