A man says being hit by a car doing 80mph saved his life - after doctors discovered a lump on his lung.
Tommy Walden, 35, and Bridget Wall, 28, were travelling back from their date night in Watford when they noticed the light for the boot was blinking in their Volvo V60 car.
Tommy pulled up on the hard shoulder of the M1 near Toddington, put his hazards on and got out to make sure the boot was shut properly.
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But as he was getting back into his vehicle, a driver went straight into the back of them throwing Tommy into the outside lane of the motorway.
He managed to get himself up and out of the way of an oncoming lorry but was left with broken ribs and a punctured lung.
But the accident has now potentially saved Tommy’s life after a scan revealed a lump on his lung – which could be cancerous.
Bridget, an influencer from Watford, said: “As he was getting back in a car hit into the back of us and threw Tommy into the first lane of the motorway.
“We were very shaken.”
Tommy, who is currently out of work, said: “I don’t like thinking about it. It sends shivers through me.
“A lorry could have hit me. I could have been dead.
“I started making a gurgling noise and coughed up blood. They found a lump on my lung.
“If it’s cancer, they’ll have got it early.”
Tommy survived bowel cancer in 2021 and recently underwent treatment for testicular cancer in December 2023.
The couple had been hoping to start afresh when the accident happened on February 25, 2024.
Bridget said: “Tommy took me out for a date and we were on our way back.
“The boot light was blinking so we pulled up on the hard shoulder.
“Our hazard lights were on.”
As Tommy was getting back in the driver's side, the couple claim a car smashed into the back of them driving at around 80mph.
The couple had a recovery vehicle take them to safety and it wasn’t until the next day that Tommy started coughing up blood and he went to hospital.
Bridget was bruised but otherwise escaped unharmed.
He said: “The blood was really black.”
He went to Watford General Hospital the morning after the incident and was put in a neck brace.
An X-ray revealed he had broken ribs and a punctured lung as well as showing up a lump on his lung.
Tommy stayed in hospital for six days while he was still coughing up blood.
Bridget said: “There was a black shadow on lung. It looks like a tumour.”
Tommy is currently waiting to find out if the lump is cancerous and if his testicular cancer has spread.
He believes he wouldn’t have spotted it so early if he hadn’t been in the crash.
Bridget said: "Tommy is so lucky."
Bedfordshire Police have confirmed the incident.
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