The driver who smashed into George Clooney's scooter today told of his shock as he realised it was the Hollywood star who had been flung 20ft in the air and smashed into his windscreen.

Antonello Viglino said he had been blinded by the sun when he collided with the actor on the holiday island of Sardinia - as terrifying video emerged of the crash.

Mr Viglino, a 65-year-old grandfather, revealed how one of the actor's bodyguards told him: 'You hit Clooney.'

When a stunned Mr Viglino asked who, they replied: 'Clooney ... the actor ... the one who shoots the film at the airport'.

Mr Viglino, a plumber, said: 'I didn't see anything, I had the sun on my eyes. I was about to turn, I just got over the line.'

New video has emerged showing George Clooney's brush with death in a scooter crash in Italy. Clooney is seen above on his scooter (circled) in the moment before the crash

Clooney is then seen thrown off this bike on the ground after colliding with a vehicle

'His head hit the windscreen and he fell to the ground': George Clooney crashed his scooter into a Mercedes being driven by a man in his sixties in Sardinia on Tuesday

After the collision, in which CCTV footage shows Clooney's scooter crash head on with the Italian's Mercedes, the elderly driver slumped on a wall in shock and told witnesses: 'I'm upset. I do not feel like going to work.'

The film shows a scooter ridden by one of his bodyguards, swerve and whiz past Mr Viglino's car before the star ploughed into him.

Mr Viglino went on: 'They told me Clooney had been taken to hospital. I wanted to go see him but when I was about to leave they told me he had already left the hospital. I hope to see him again.'

A witness, Gianni Visciano, who was driving a pick up truck, said: 'Clooney was shouting and when one of his escorts took off his helmet, he seemed unable to move his legs and held his head'.

Sergio Gavazzi, owner of the nearby Costa Corallina café, added: 'There was great confusion. Cars were queuing as people stopped to look. One of Clooney's escorts shouted: 'No photos on mobile phones.'

Footage taken from a street in Italy shows George Clooney being thrown several feet into the air when his scooter collided with an oncoming car.

Clooney, 57, collided with a Mercedes on the Italian island of Sardinia about 7am on Tuesday, when it turned into his lane as he tried to ride past.

Video taken from a fixed security camera, obtained by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, shows another rider managed to get around the car, but Clooney, believed to be riding nearby, was reportedly hit.

In the video, he is seen flipping over the handlebars of his scooter, flying into the air, appearing to hit the windscreen of the car, before tumbling onto the asphalt.

Fortunately the star was wearing a helmet and was driving slowly, but the windscreen of the Mercedes was badly smashed.

The actor's feet were just visible as his injuries were tended to on the road moments after the accident

The scooter could be seen lying in front of the car, with the smashed windscreen clearly visible

An oil stain and police paint remained on the road. Photographs taken by someone passing the scene showed the car's front right bumper damaged and Clooney's scooter on its side.

Viglino is seen rushing to Clooney's aid, as are other witnesses.

He was taken to John Paul II hospital in Olbia, but released after just a few hours.

The actor had a CT scan, which showed no fractures, but he has reportedly suffered trauma to the pelvis, hip and knee which should take around 20 days to heal.

A spokesman for the Oceans 11 actor told Associated Press he was 'recovering at his home and will be fine'.

Clooney's wife Amal, 40, immediately rushed to his side and after two hours, she and George left together via a side exit with security and the local police escort.

The source also told MailOnline: 'The accident happened in a very tourist area, so at that time there was not much traffic.

'Those who saw it will have probably thought of a normal accident also because Clooney's scooter is a normal scooter, there are lots of them around.'

Firefighters arrived at the scene as a safety precaution and in one snap, an extinguisher can be seen abandoned on the road.

A source told MailOnline the actor had been riding his scooter from his house in Puntaldia, Sardinia, to the set of his new Hulu TV series, Catch 22, which is in Capo Ceraso, in Olbia, when the accident occured.

George was at the intersection of Costa Corallina, a tourist village with a private harbour, when he got hit by the car as it turned left to enter the village.

Amal and George, along with their one-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander, are living in Sardinia for the summer, where he is filming his new TV series, Catch 22.

The couple had previously been enjoying their European trip alongside George's parents Nina and Nick Clooney, as well as Amal's mother Baria Alamuddin.

Clooney has been staying at a lush, gated rental villa in the high-end Puntaldia neighborhood on Sardinia's northeastern coast, which overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea. Staff at the home declined to comment.

The actor is a frequent visitor to Italy. He has a home on Lake Como and was married in Venice in 2014 to British human rights attorney Amal Clooney.