An NHS worker who was left with severe injuries after being hit by a car, has described how one of the suspected assailants shouted a racial slur at him before running away. A court heard how Katungua Tjitendero, 25, was struck on the afternoon of 22 July 2020, near Southmead Hospital in Bristol shortly after finishing his shift there. Tjitendero told Bristol Crown Court: "When they got out and said what they said... It is just two white kids and then they do that...and run off. I was just like 'wow.'"

Tjitendero described to officers a few days after the incident that his head hit the windscreen of a blue Honda Accord car. He said he had been looking at music videos on his phone and wearing headphones when he was suddenly "hit by a car". "At first, I just thought it was some sort of crash," Tjitendero told officers. "They just got out of the car. As soon as they hit me, they left the car and ran off. I can't really remember what they looked like, I just remember two white males."

Phillip Adams, 26, Patrick James, 22, Jordan McCarthy, 22, and Daniel Whereatt, 51, all from Bristol, all deny conspiring to “unlawfully and maliciously” inflict grievous bodily harm to Mr Tjitendero. James also denies a second charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to an incident 10 days earlier. However, he has admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Tjitendero suffered a fractured fibula, fractured nose and cuts to his head and both shins in the incident. Asked to describe what took place after he was struck, Tjitendero said: "The blood was running down my face, but at first, my face wasn't hurting as much as my leg." Prosecutors claim that the blue Honda Accord estate had suspects James and Adams inside. They claim the men were driving around the Southmead area "looking" for Tjitendero. Meanwhile, Tjitendero asserted that he had never seen the men before and had not been in dispute with anyone.

In a statement to police following the incident, Tjitendero said he could not speak and was drifting in and out of consciousness. He added that medics had to drill a hole in his chest to tear-inflate his lung. In court on Thursday, Tjitendero described being in severe pain and being unable to leave his house three months after the incident. "I can think of no reason why this would happen to me," he added. The trial continues.