Elisha Cuthbert was hit by a car in New York. (NATHAN DENETTE/The Canadian Press file)

Actress Elisha Cuthbert is lucky to be alive after she was hit by a car in New York.

The 24 star credits the training she underwent to star as Kim Bauer in the action show with helping her leap to safety when the speeding driver careered into her during a recent night out.

She reveals, "I went for dinner and I'm walking to the subway and I get hit by a car.

"I have this sort of Kim Bauer reaction. I thought, I can either try and outrun it; I can freeze like a deer in the headlights and break both my knees; or I can jump onto the vehicle and propel myself into the entire intersection, so I did the last one and landed with my purse intact."

Cuthbert credits three local guys with chasing down the car and restraining the dangerous driver until the cops arrived.

She adds, "There were three guys there who grabbed the guy and wouldn't let him get away."

And the actress escaped with just a bad bruise in an embarrassing spot: "I had a nice bruise on my buttocks. It makes you realize. Life can end very quickly."