Hooked up to a life support machine with little sign of life, doctors did not expect Raymond Hutcheon to survive.
The father-of-six had suffered life-threatening head injuries when he was thrown in the air by a car, and his family were warned to expect the worst.
But against all the odds, he survived.
And today, exactly seven years since he was almost killed, the 46-year-old from Aberdeen said he was thankful the crash ever happened – as it had given him a chance to turn his life around.
Mr Hutcheon had been working as a postman for years before the accident, working hard during the day and rewarding himself with a drink at night.
To the outside world, it seemed he was living life to the full.
In reality, it was spiralling out of control, with one drink always turning to many.
“Some days I would choose it over seeing my kids,” he said.
But everything changed when he was hit by a silver Seat Ibiza on Bon Accord Terrace while on a night out.
“I was catapulted over the windscreen and smashed my head off the ground,” he said.
“I should have been killed.”
With massive bleeding around his brain, doctors thought he would not make it.
“But eventually I woke up. It was incredible, I sat upright straight away,” he said.
“The doctors said in all their years they had never seen anything like it.
“Apparently I said to my mum that I heard a voice telling me it wasn’t my time yet and that I needed to go back.
“It might sound strange, but I believe the accident was meant to be.”
Specialists worked for months to repair the damage to his brain, which was to affect his short-term memory for years to come.
A metal plate was also inserted to fix his smashed cheek.
Mr Hutcheon also knew it was a chance to sort his life out, and not waste his lucky escape.
“That crash saved me. I wasn’t living my life before, but I am now. I haven’t touched a drink in years and I am so grateful to be alive,” he said.
“I was a mess before the accident, but now I go to bed every night and say thank you for yet another day.
“I’ve become a grandad since and I have another grandchild on the way. I know I was meant to be here to meet them.”
Mr Hutcheon even keeps newspaper cuttings in his wallet from when the accident happened to remind him how lucky he is.
“It’s strange to think it’s been seven years, but I can definitely say they’ve been the best years of my life,” he said.