A DOTING young father is fighting for his life after a car crash left him with serious head injuries.

Curtis Constantine, aged 23, remained in an induced coma in hospital yesterday with bleeding and swelling on the brain.

His girlfriend, Jessica Booth, aged 22, is devastated and has hardly slept since the incident on Friday evening, barely leaving his side in hospital. The couple have an eight-month-old baby together, Jessica's dad, Gary Booth told The Bolton News.

Mr Constantine, known as Curt, had been driving back from Manchester when he hit a minibus hire vehicle, on his side of the road, and then a Renault Clio coming from the other direction in Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, just after 9pm on Friday.

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He is believed to have been flung from his vehicle, a Ford Fiesta, through the passenger window.

In addition to his head injuries, Mr Constantine suffered cuts to his ear and a shattered elbow.

Yesterday he was still unconscious in hospital but was apparently aware of his surroundings, responding to his girlfriend by squeezing her hand when she asked him to, added Mr Booth.

“He is young and he is fit, so we have to stay hopeful,” he said.

Two women in the Clio suffered minor injuries.

Miss Booth’s father said: “Jessica is absolutely broken by what has happened.

“I had to give her sleeping tablets because she has barely slept since it happened.

“Curt is no angel, but he has a good heart and he does absolutely everything for that baby.

“He makes sure Jessica and the baby are looked after, and any spare money he has he gives it all to that child.”

The couple, who have been together for nine years, are currently saving money for a deposit to buy their own home.

Mr Constantine, a self-employed building maintenance worker, celebrated his 23rd birthday last week.

Mr Booth added: “He is a young lad and he has had responsibility thrust upon him.

“With their baby this should have been a new start for them, a new future.”

Darren Clare, who lives in Darwen Road near to the junction of Hough Lane where the crash happened, saw the aftermath and called 999.

Mr Clare, aged 51, said: “We heard a huge bang but when we looked out of the window we couldn’t see anything.

“So I ran out to see what had happened and when I saw it I immediately called the emergency services.”

He said other people who had gathered at the scene said the man had been “ejected” from the vehicle on impact.

“He looks like he’d been catapulted out of the car. It was a very bad one."

“Both registration plates were obliterated so I had to look at the back of the vehicles to tell the police the numbers.

“The front of both cars were just not there, and there was water coming out of the front onto the road.”

Emergency services quickly attended the scene and gave treatment to the man on the ground and two women in the Clio.

Two fire engines, one from Bolton North station and one from Bolton Central, and a Technical Rescue Unit from Leigh fire station, were present.

Mr Clare added: “There were people gathering round and some people brought blankets out.

“It was all a bit mad, it all happened in the space of five or six minutes.”

Police serious collision investigators have been examining the scene and talking to any witnesses to try and establish exactly what happened.

PC Anthony Pye said: “Sadly one young man is seriously ill as a result of this incident and we need to be sure of the circumstances.

“We want to speak to anyone who may have seen the collision but didn’t stop to speak to police.

“It might be that you also have dash-cam footage which could really help this investigation.

“We also want to know how these vehicles were being driven, so if you saw anything shortly before the collision then please also get in touch.”

Anyone with any information should call GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741.