A man who “nearly died” after crashing on the A343 in August has said he feels like “luckiest man in the world to be alive.”

Adam Blanchard was on his way home from the Co-op depot in Andover at 14:30 on August 19 when he says he “hit a puddle and spun 360 degrees, then hit a tree” outside Enham Alamein.

“I don’t understand how it happened,” he told the Advertiser. “I’ve been along that road so many times!”

The Newbury resident says that “everything went black,” with no memories after the accident until he woke up in a Southampton hospital. He says that it was uncertain whether he would survive the first 48 hours.

“My knee and thigh bone had exploded; I had haemothorax [blood on the lungs]; my ribs, sternum and nose were broken; and there was an open fracture on my right arm,” he said. “I had to have four operations, with three long ones lasting nine to ten hours.

“They put a titanium rod in my right thigh bone, which is still repairing slowly. I’ve only got one and a half legs at the moment, not two.”

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Recovering in hospital, Adam said that one of his concerns was being able to get his CD out of the car, which he had left in the CD player. However, when he saw the extent of damage to his car, it had an emotional impact on him.

“The first time I saw the picture of my car it made me cry,” he said, “as it made me realise how lucky I am to be alive. Everyone that’s seen it is surprised I survived, so there must have had someone watching me that day.”

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He said that the accident has changed his life. “I stopped smoking after being in hospital,” Adam said. “My kids Ben, Jessica and Riley kept wanting me to survive, and afterwards, they gave me the willpower to keep my mind on not smoking.”

Since leaving hospital, Adam has been learning more about what happened, and in particular, the good Samaritans who helped him.

“A lady called Nikki Spear was first on the scene,” he said. “It happened in front of her, and she was very good. If she didn’t see me crash, I don’t think I’d be here.”

He also paid tribute to Sarah Yates, who was with her family when the accident happened. “I want to give them both the highest praise,” he said.

He also thanked the emergency services, whether that’s the fire brigade who cut him free from the car, the police who closed the road, or the medical teams who got him to hospital and allowed him to survive.

“It’s at times like that where you see how good the emergency services are,” he said. “I want to shake the hands of the team at the fire station when I’m walking again, and give the team at Southampton hospital a gift.”

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For now, Adam still has to wait for his injuries to fully heal, but he says he’s making good progress. He’s looking to the future now, and says that he’s “looking forward” to seeing his colleagues Hannah and Naomi at the Co-op depot when he’s well.

His crash also hasn’t put him off driving either, with Adam saying that he’s “looking forward to getting back on the road.”