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WATCH: Miracle survival as crash victim sent flying through the air

A young driver who jumped out of his car to avoid being hit by a ute has instead run straight into its path.

He was hit and flung high into the air, but survived the dramatic accident.

It looks like a graphic road safety advertisement, but the sickening impact of this accident, filmed by a motorbike rider, is real.

Pat Carroll was hit by a ute and flung high into the air. Source: 7 News
Pat Carroll was hit by a ute and flung high into the air. Source: 7 News

"I just thought it was all over", victim Pat Carroll said.

On Wednesday afternoon Mc Carroll was stranded, out of petrol, waiting for a friend with his hazard lights on when he noticed the ute approaching from behind.

"I could tell by the way he was coming, it didn't look like he was slowing down," Mr Carroll said.

"I started to get a bit nervous, I thought, 'oh, is he gonna see me?'

"Just split second I thought, 'nah, I'm getting out of this', so I jumped out of my car."

But that move to save himself actually put the 22-year-old in harm's way.

"Whoah, he's right on me, and that was it," Mr Carroll said.

"My head's hit the front windscreen as I've done a flip, and then I've seen the sky and the ground a few times.

"Then I've hit down and I was like, 'I'm alive still!'"

Pat Carroll's first thought after being hit:
Pat Carroll's first thought after being hit:

Stephanies Hines was working nearby and rushed over with a first aid kit.

"He was bleeding from the top of the head, also from the bottom of his head where he actually hit the tarmac," she said.

Stephanie Hines was working nearby and rushed over with a first aid kit. Source: 7 News
Stephanie Hines was working nearby and rushed over with a first aid kit. Source: 7 News

"It was quite bad."

The motorbike rider said the ute was going at about 60km on impact.

Now recovering in hospital with a fractured spine and legs, Mr Carroll said the video footage was surreal to watch.

"I sort of smiled and thought, 'that's insane', then it sorta hit me, like, that's me."

The stretch of highway leading to the crash site is flat and straight.

It is not clear why the ute driver was speeding towards the broken down car, or why he swerved into oncoming traffic instead of swerving away.
"It seemed like he was in another world or something," Mr Carroll said.

Police are continuing to investigate and will interview the driver before possible charges are laid.