Rugby international left unable to work and on benefits after hit-and-run
Former Wales rugby star Non Evans has opened up about being the victim of a hit-and-run which has left her unable to work and forced to accept benefits to pay her mortgage.
Evans, who won 87 caps for the Wales women's rugby team and also represented her country in judo, wrestling and weightlifting, was awarded an MBE for services to sport in 2011 and had been working as a personal trainer before the crash. She was hit by an 87-year-old woman, Joyce Forbes, who did not stop and plead guilty to charges of failing to stop after a road accident and driving without due care and attention in magistrates' court.
Forbes was fined £120, ordered to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £48 and disqualified from driving for six months. For Evans, however, she remains "physically very, very unwell" as a result of the crash and says she "feels like I have lost everything". She told WalesOnline: "This incident stopped everything. I am very emotional, especially after the court case.
"I'm physically very, very unwell and I struggle to get out of bed. Previously I could run miles, train my clients, I could do everything. Now I struggle to even press a TV remote control. When I get out of bed in the morning, I feel like an old woman. My life has been my sport and I feel like I have lost everything."
Reflecting on the crash itself, Evans added: "I was cycling along as normal and then next thing, bang! I thought: 'Oh my God, I'm dead'. I managed to drag myself off the floor and they drove off. Because I'm used to sport, I'm used to having bumps and bruises so I thought I was okay and I got up - but I wasn't okay.
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"I was flat in the middle of the road and worried that if another car had come behind they could have run over me and I could be dead. If it was an older person or someone who didn’t do a lot of sport, they could have been dead. My bike was absolutely smashed to pieces, it was worth about £800. My clothes were also ripped. Luckily I had a leather jacket on - that was ripped to pieces otherwise it would have been my arm."
There were workmen at the scene who helped Evans, with one of them even chasing after the vehicle to get its number plate which was later given to the police. Evans was treated at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, having suffered two broken hands, a broken bone in her foot, a black eye and ligament damage to one of her knees.
She needed an operation on both hands and was forced to seek benefits as her injuries prevented her from working. "I've lost money because I haven't been able to do my personal training," Evans explained. "Embarrassingly, I had to go on Universal Credit. People assume I must be rich, but I still have a mortgage to pay. I'm in arrears now for my mortgage because of it. Without the help of my parents I would probably lose my apartment."
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