A former model had to learn how to walk and talk again while homeless after she miraculously survived a horror car smash.

Doctors gave Jodie Regazzoli just a three per cent chance of survival because her injuries were so catastrophic after being hit by a car and catapulted 6ft into the air.

The former Miss Ireland contestant crashed through the car's windscreen and was in a coma for two months after suffering a fractured skull and pelvis.

But after she defied the odds and was released from hospital after eight months, the 23-year-old was unable to work and is homeless while stuck on a council housing list, the Irish Mirror reports.

Ms Regazzoli, from Dublin, told of her struggle as she returned to Beaumont Hospital to thank the doctors and nurses who saved her life following the collision on April 17 last year.

(Image: Gareth Chaney/Collins)

It is a miraculous turnaround given that she was told she would never walk or talk again.

She lost a "huge amount" of her memory and, after emerging from a coma, had to be told again that her grandad, who died seven years ago, was no longer alive.

Ms Regazzoli, who has had a prosthetic skull inserted, said: “Last year I was on my way to work at River Island in Swords Pavilion when I was hit by a car.

“One of the people I was crossing with saw an ambulance going the opposite way and they ran after it.

“I was attended to straight away and rushed to Beaumont Hospital with little chance of survival.

(Image: Gareth Chaney/Collins)

“My injuries were immense. I had a shattered pelvis, a broken knee, hip and shoulder, nerve damage down the left side of my body and a very traumatic brain injury.

“A few days after the accident I had to be rushed into surgery as the swelling on my brain had got to a life-threatening level.

“Part of my skull had to be removed to relieve the pressure and save my life."

She added: “I was in a coma for two months and I spent seven months in total in intensive care.

“When I came around I had lost a huge amount of my memory and I had forgotten so much. I had to be told again that my grandad, who died seven years previously, had passed on.”

Before the collision, Ms Regazzoli was modelling and was confident about her future.

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But she said she now has paralysis on the left side of her body, often can’t move for hours and struggles to dress herself or carry out routine daily tasks.

She has a prominent limp and has to drag her left leg when she walks.

She said: “The car hit my left side and then I damaged the right side of my brain but the right side controls the left side of your body, so I’ve nerve damage and I can’t use my left hand or I can’t really lift my left leg.”

Ms Regazzoli said she has been homeless since she was released from hospital in December.

She claims Fingal County Council does not consider her a “medical priority”.

She added: “This was my last home [Beaumont Hospital] and I couldn’t wait to get out and then I got out and I’ve just been staying in houses and staying in hotels ever since.

(Image: PA)

“I was denied medical priority. So I can’t even be given a house so it’s just up to me to find one but because I don’t work.

“I’m staying in a hotel at the moment until Sunday and then I don’t know where I will go.”

Ms Regazzoli receives just 203 euros (£185) in disability benefit and says she often has just 10 euros (£9.15) in her bank account.

She said the situation has left her anxious and depressed

Fighting back tears, her aunt, Maria Regazzoli, said: “She’s done brilliantly. She’s had life-changing injuries and she now finds herself homeless.

“They said she’s not a medical priority but she’s had half her skull removed and she’s had catastrophic injuries.

“She’s entitled to the Housing Assistance Payment scheme but nobody [landlords] will take it. It’s disgusting.”

Maria pointed to a bump on her niece’s head and said: “That’s prosthetic.”

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Ms Regazzoli added: “Two days after the accident they had to remove half my skull to let my brain swell.

“All last summer I had only one strip of bone and then last August I got a prosthetic skull inserted.

“When I’m out and I’m in pain all I’m saying is I want to go home but I don’t have a home to go to.

“I just have to go back to the hotel. I have family and of course I could stay in their house but I just want my own home.

“And I was always so independent growing up.

“I always did everything by myself and then this happened and now I have to depend on people and for somewhere to sleep and stuff to eat and wash my clothes.

“So it’s really hard having to depend on somebody for absolutely everything else.

“I just want to be a little bit independent and live in my own house and wash my own clothes and feed myself. I’m on the housing list but that could take years.

Her aunt Maria said: “This is the reality and it’s terrible. It’s just the way the council is gone, it’s the way the country is run. They don’t care.

“Her clothes are distributed all over the place in various houses in bags. Her whole life is turned upside down. It’s so sad.”

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A spokesman for Fingal County Council said it “does not comment on the specific circumstances of applicants for Social Housing Support”.

The spokesman added: “However, every effort is made to support applicants, especially those who find themselves in difficult or vulnerable circumstances, through homelessness or medical needs.”