Danny Cipriani has revealed how he nearly died after being hit by a bus and believes his late actions saved him from being involved in a fatal accident on a night out.
The former England rugby international was on a night out with a group of Sale Sharks team-mates a decade ago when a moment of drunken madness saw him sprint across the road and into the path of an oncoming bus.
Cipriani at the time was taking part in a pub crawl known as the Otley Run with his colleagues and in his attempts to run away from one of the group stepped out in front of a bus.
The 35-year-old, who is still without a club, explained how he has struggled with alcohol and drugs in the past and believes he was lucky to escape with his life after the incident.
Writing in his memoir, Who Am I?, being serialised by the Sun, Cipriani described the harrowing encounter: ‘What’s the worst that could happen? We’ve almost made it to the last pub of the crawl and I’m slightly over-excited. I sneak up behind one of the boys, whack him on the back of the head and he starts chasing me.
Danny Cipriani has insisted he was lucky to survive being hit by a bus in 2013
Cipriani was out on a night out with his Sale Sharks team-mates when the collision occured
‘I’m running along, checking over my shoulder, and when I reach a bus stop, I look to my right, see a bus coming, assume it’s stopping and make a dash for it. BOOM!
‘If I hadn’t instinctively jumped at the last second and smashed into the bus window, instead of the grille, I’d have been wiped out. Legs crushed, maybe killed.
‘As it is, I’m flat on my back on a stretcher, surrounded by paramedics. As well as being concussed, I’ve torn the medial collateral ligament in my knee,’ he added.
‘Not too bad, the season’s over anyway. When I get out of hospital, I can’t resist tweeting, ‘Heavy night. Feel like I’ve been hit by a bus… ‘
‘People have a laugh at that, which is what I wanted. But no one asks me how I really am’, stated Cipriani.
A bruised Cipriani required the use of crutches after the horrific accident
Cipriani (right) was previously picked by England but struggled to nail down a spot in the team
The front windscreen of the bus was shattered as it bore the brunt force of the impact with Cipriani and buckled inwards as contact was made.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and he was taken away in an ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary before being discharged on crutches.
Fortunately, the fly-half survived and went on to make a full recovery that allowed him to continue his career in the sport.
However, Cipriani explained how he still takes a prescription painkiller called Tramadol after the collision, but openly admits he wants to eventually stop taking the medication.
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