A Dublin City Councillor has revealed how he has been left deeply traumatised after he was thrown into the air after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run in Co.Kerry.

Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said he was struggling to come to terms with the fact he was ‘left for dead’ after the car ploughed into him in the middle of the day.

He told how he was walking along a footpath and crossing the entrance to a housing estate at around 3pm on Saturday, August 8, when a car suddenly came onto the wrong side of the road and struck him.

In an emotional interview with Kieran Cuddihy on RTÉ’s Liveline, Cllr Flynn said the violent force of the impact threw him into the air before he landed on the roadside.

Cllr Flynn said the driver stopped and looked at him but then callously drove away after he asked for help.

‘He stopped, and he looked at me,’ Mr Flynn said.

‘I asked him for help. What’s going on? He drove on.’

Moments later, the driver appeared to stop again but then drove away from the scene for a second time. Cllr Flynn revealed he suffered a serious injury to his wrist and arm which required surgery.

He said he was left in severe pain and shock after breaking his arm and badly damaging his wrist.

‘I looked at my arm. My wrist was hanging out, very badly damaged,’ he said.

At one point he tried to use his phone to photograph the car before contacting gardai and emergency services. Several witnesses, including foreign tourists, helped him at the scene.

He said gardai and an ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later before he was taken to University Hospital Kerry in Tralee.

After undergoing X-rays and surgery, doctors inserted steel plates and pins into his arm.

Mt Flynn said apart from the physical injuries, he has been left traumatised by the incident.

He said he has found it difficult to sleep and is now incredibly cautious when walking near roads, fearing another vehicle could mount the footpath.

‘I’m very cautious crossing the road. I’m very anxious on the footpath,’ he said.

‘I’m trying to hug the buildings almost, walking down, because I think every car is going to come onto the footpath and knock me down.’

He said the fact that the driver left the scene had increased his trauma.

He said during a previous road accident involving a truck several years ago, the driver had stopped and remained at the scene.

But this time he was left lying on the roadside trying to understand what had happened.

‘I was left completely and absolutely powerless and helpless and full of anxiety, with my wrist hanging out over my arm,’ he said.

He said the accident has left him struggling to carry out his work as a Dublin city councillor.

He admitted he was forced to leave a recent Dublin City Council meeting after he became overwhelmed by anxiety and pain.

And he is now questioning whether he could continue in public life.

Cllr Flynn also called for the law covering hit-and-run incidents to be reviewed.

He said he did not know whether the collision had been deliberate.

‘I’m not saying he intentionally hit me,’ he said. But he hit me. But he intentionally drove off and left me in that state.’

He said he is uncertain whether the driver will ever be caught and prosecuted.

He said he had been with his grandchildren in Kerry only hours before the collision but was thankful they were not involved.

‘I’m 69 years of age, nearly 70,’ he said. ‘Had I been in any way frail or a child, I’d have been dead.’

He said he believes he will recover physically from the injuries, but that the psychological recovery could take a long time.

‘I’ll recover from my injuries physically. I’ll be fine,’ he said. But the emotional impact is going to impact me.’

Fighting back tears, he said it was the first time he had spoken about it openly.

‘I didn’t cry in the hospital, didn’t cry on the road, but I’m crying now,’ he said.