A teenager who was badly injured by a drunk driver spoke of his relief after she admitted to the crime yesterday.

Shakir Amory, 17, spent four months in hospital recuperating from head injuries and multiple fractures after Angela Ambrosini's car hit his auxiliary cycle late on March 6.

He was just 16 at the time of the crash, which happened as he was on his way home from a family reunion dinner.

Yesterday at Supreme Court, Ambrosini, 37, from Smith's, admitted causing grievous bodily harm by driving while impaired. She was due to go on trial that day.

Speaking after the hearing, the injured teenager said: "It's a big relief."

He is still recovering from his injuries, which left him in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for three months. He spent a further month at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.

"I broke my jaw, my collarbone, my lung collapsed, I broke both my femurs and had a head injury," he explained. "I can't remember what happened, just waking up in hospital. I'm doing good now. It feels better to have my independence but my legs still hurt and sometimes I can't comprehend things and find it hard to understand."

The teenager, from Somerset, spent several days in a medically-induced paralysis after the accident to allow his body to recover.

He underwent several surgeries and had to have metal plates put in his legs and jaw.

After making good progress, he is now back at school at CedarBridge Academy where he is in S4. Doctors have told him he should eventually make a full recovery.

He was due to give evidence if Ambrosini's trial had gone ahead.

"My friends were pretty interested in what I had to do, to go to court," he explained.

His mother, Roslyn Amory, works for the Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The family are members of that faith and Shakir was on his way home from a fellowship dinner to mark the Sabbath when the collision occurred.

Mrs.Amory asked people to pray for Ambrosini as well as her son in the aftermath of the crash.

Yesterday, she said: "I'm happy that she pleaded guilty. Now we're just going to the next step."

Prosecutor Nicole Smith did not detail the circumstances of the crash in court, but will do so during the sentencing hearing.

Ambrosini, who works at TeleBermuda International and has volunteered for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, faces a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum of ten. The sentence could be suspended in exceptional circumstances. She also faces a three-year disqualification from driving and ten to 12 demerit points.

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves bailed her until December 1 when she will return to court for a sentencing date to be set. He ordered a pre-sentencing report and she must surrender her travel documents.