A HIT-AND-RUN driver ploughed into a car owned by a disabled student.
Now Dave Dickinson fears his modified Volkswagen Lupo may be written off and he faces the run-up to vital exams without transport.
The crash took place at about 12.40am on Saturday when he had left the car outside his parents' home in Commercial Road, Skelmanthorpe.
Dave is a second year English and media student at Huddersfield University. He lives in student accommodation at Firth Point in Firth Street but occasionally leaves his vehicle in Skelmanthorpe.
After a night out with friends, he returned to find a Vauxhall Cavalier had smashed into the back of the Lupo, shunting it into a wall three houses away.
"My car had been hit with such force it had mounted the kerb and knocked into our wall, bounced off it, then smashed into another neighbour's wall three houses down," he said.
The road was closed for an hour while the debris was cleared away.
Policemen with sniffer dogs tried to catch the culprit, but without success.
Dave has cerebral palsy and leases the vehicle from Motability, a car scheme for disabled people
"I rely on my little Lupo to get me around, especially for university," he said. It had been adapted to his needs, with the brake and accelerator operated by hand.
Having leased it for three years, it was due to go back in May. The accident means he may have to wait until summer for a new vehicle.
He will now have to use public transport, which he finds awkward because of his disability. Taxis will be another, very expensive, alternative.
"Without a car to get to and from university it's going to make things quite difficult," he said.
He has also had to take time off from his course to sort out the mess.
"I should be at university this week. I have had to take a few days off just to try to get everything sorted out."
