TWO years after their son was left for dead by the side of a road, the parents of Newport man Alex Chant say they don’t ever expect to find out what happened to him.

Speaking to the Argus at the family home in Pembroke Grove, Lliswerry, Mr Chant’s parents, Stephen and Lynda, said Gwent Police have told them that although the case remains open, they have exhausted all lines of inquiry.

Alex Chant, 22, was left on the side of Newport’s Southern Distributor Road on March 27, 2010, after falling from a moving taxi.

The driver fled the scene and it was a passing motorist called Kate who put him in the recovery position and called 999.

The family are not holding out hope of getting to the bottom of what happened that night.

Mr Chant, 51, said: “We don’t expect this to be solved.

The only hope we’ve got is if somebody slips up.”

Pointing to a photograph on the kitchen wall of his son at his brother’s wedding, taken before the crash, Mr Chant added: “That lad there is gone.”

And Mrs Chant, 50, praised the woman who came to her son’s aid – saving his life. She said: “If it wasn’t for that girl, he would have died on the road.

“We’re grieving for somebody who didn’t die because Alex isn’t the same Alex who left that night.”

Alex Chant was found close to Carcraft at 11.30pm. After abandoning Mr Chant, the taxi driver carried on towards the slip road to Stephenson Street. Last year, Mr Chant revealed to the Argus that he was pushed from the taxi by the driver.

The extent of Mr Chant’s injuries meant, when he first arrived at the Royal Gwent Hospital, the family were told he was not going to survive and they were advised to start calling family to tell them the bad news.

Two years on, his parents travel to Rookwood Hospital, Cardiff, every day after work. They bring Mr Chant home every Friday and take him back on Sundays.

His time at home gives him the chance to spend time with siblings Claire, 26, and Matthew, 29, and his nieces Alexia and Skye Simpson.

After being in a coma for three months, Mr Chant is now able to stand and walk short distances using the help of a frame.

He also plays table tennis and the family have taken him kayaking and bowling and he uses boxing punch pads at home to help build his strength and improve his movement.

The family home is being renovated using a £55,000 grant from Newport council to pay for a downstairs bedroom for Mr Chant and a wet room. Once this is finished, he can come home, which his parents hope will be by the end of May.

Mr Chant has been accepted to the National Star College in Cheltenham, a college for people with disabilities.

He hopes to study a twoyear Independent Living foundation course. The family have applied for grant funding fromthe Assembly to cover the £84,000 a year fees and if successful, Mr Chant can start in September.

The family are waiting to hear back from the Motor Insurance Bureau about claiming compensation.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Who wrecked a young life?

ALEX Chant and his family have been to hell and back over the last two years.

It was the end of March in 2010 when Alex, then aged 20, was left for dead at the side of the Southern Distributor Road in Newport.

He suffered catastrophic head injuries after being pushed from a moving taxi. The driver has never been found.

At first, Alex’s parents Stephen and Lynda and his siblings Matthew and Claire were told he was unlikely to survive. The postman was in a coma for three months.

But he has proved to be a real fighter. Alex is now able to stand and walk short distances with the help of a frame. And with adaptations being made to the family home in Lliswerry, his parents hope he will finally be able to come home permanently before the end of May.

There are, of course, many struggles ahead for Alex, now 22.

His parents are brutally honest when they say the son they now have is not the same Alex who left home for a night out in 2010.

And they fear they will never know who was responsible for Alex’s injuries.

The case remains open but police have told the Chants they have exhausted all lines of inquiry.

We hope our reports today, almost two years after Alex’s life changed forever, will trigger memories for anyone else driving on the SDR near Carcraft at around 11.30pm on March 27, 2010.

It may be a forlorn hope, but our reports might also prick the conscience of the taxi driver Alex believes pushed him out of the vehicle.

That driver must be living every day with the knowledge that he has wrecked a young life that was so full of promise.

It is remarkable that an incident that was so high profile at the time remains an unsolved mystery.

The Chants have shown remarkable fortitude and courage during the last two years.

They are a prime example of a family that pulls together in the face of adversity.

But they will never truly be at peace until they know how and why young Alex’s life was altered so traumatically.

If you know anything about that night in 2010 we urge you to contact the police.

And if you are that taxi driver then it is not too late to do the right thing.