A MAN who was left with life-threatening injuries after a suspected hit-and-run near Chepstow - who has been denied justice after a legal blunder - has been left "broken", his father has said.
Father-of-two John Conibeer, from Newport, was given a two per cent chance to live following the incident, on the A48 in Pwllmeyric, in February 2018.
He has since needed more than 50 hours of surgery on broken bones and damaged organs.
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But, although Mark Westerman, aged 44, formerly of Rogiet, was charged in September this year with failing to stop following the incident, failing to report the incident, and driving without due care, the case was dropped because the time limit for charges to be made had lapsed.
“We’re angry, disappointed, and disillusioned,” Mr Conibeer’s father, Anthony, said. “We feel like justice hasn’t been done for John.”
His son had been left distraught by the court’s decision, he added, saying: “Everything is too much for him. He’s been left in a hell of a state.”
Mr Conibeer was the passenger in a car which crashed on the A48 in the early hours of February 17, 2018. He was trying to move the car when he was struck by a passing van.
His father said previously that his son had been “left choking on his own blood, his leg smashed behind his back, broken and damaged”.
The Conibeer family is heartbroken and dismayed at how such a long investigation could have collapsed in such a farcical manner.
“We’re wondering what the hell went on,” Mr Conibeer’s father said. “There was an arrest, charges, it got to court – and out it goes.”
He said his son had become reluctant to talk in any detail about the incident.
Mr Conibeer may still require further surgery, nearly two years on from the incident.
His father said the family felt “let down” by the system and would fight the decision to drop the case.
“We won’t shut the door on it yet – we’ll carry on and do what we can do,” he said. “There are lots of questions to be asked.”
And he thanked members of the public for their “tremendous” outpouring of support since the incident.
He said: “A lot of people feel disgusted by what happened.”
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