First on scene, but wishing I wasn't

During yesterday's journey from Blackpool to London my director and I were following a minibus in the fast lane of the M6 by Corley services when it went out of control, it went from the outside lane to the centre lane then swerved sharply back into the outside lane hitting the central barrier head on. The impact was so hard something crossed over taking the windscreen out of a car travelling northbound. We managed to just stop in time without hitting the minibus. At this point we noticed the minibus had children on board. My director who "doesn't do blood" stayed put, calling the emergency service whilst I went to see what help I could offer.....and that's when I witnessed a disabled child in a wheelchair covered in blood, his career was sat at the back of the vehicle bleeding out from a huge neck wound and the driver no longer in the drivers seat but trapped in the passenger side footwell. Horrific scene, and to be honest I just stood there with my mouth open not knowing what to do. As luck would have it a truck driver appeared saying "I am ex fire and rescue" and took charge of the situation. I fetched the emergency kit from the boot of our car and he tackled the lady with the neck wound. As other people arrived I decided we had nothing more we could do and so I left my details with another lady who also knew first aid we buggered of. We heard later than both carriageways where closed for many hours causing grid lock.

I have to say the ex F&R guy was fecking brilliant and know doubt the poor people especially the lady with the neck wound owe their lives to his professional and quick thinking actions.

We continued to Rugby train station with me getting hotter and hotter and feeling quite unwell, at the station I was violently sick before we got the train into London for our evening meeting.

Needless to say I stuck to white wine over dinner, I had had enough claret to last me a lifetime.

I thought I had quite a strong constitution but it would seem not as the night spent in my hotel room was devoid of sleep without the most horrible nightmares.

The old saying ' what's been seen, can't be unseen' rings very true.

 

Good on you mate for stopping, Takes balls in situations like that.

 

Well done for stepping up to the mark. Hope the minibus people are OK, and that you are too.

 

Good job done under difficult circumstances, its amazing what you can do when required

 

Respect!

Nuff said

 

wow you sir are a hero, not sure if I could have entered that bus.. Hate blood and would have tried to avoid entering. Sounds like you have saved lives yesterday try to concentrate on that not what you have seen. Hope everyone's ok sounds horrific

 

Terrible event that the emergency services tackle every day, well done David you stopped and did what you could, you may have saved the lady’s life just by stemming the follow of blood for a short while. Bloody well done mate!!!

 

Sounds like you suffered some shock from the experience so make sure you keep an eye on that as you noticed it can have a heavy effect on your body!

 

Sounds like an horrific scene but kudos to you for stepping up and helping out. I'm sure many people (probably me included) would have just frozen on the spot when presented with a scene like that. No doubt lives saved and injuries minimised as a result. Good job!

 

I was listening to the Radio and they kept giving up dates on that crash... It sounded horrific, hope everyone involved were ok.. Well done you for trying to help.. It must have been terrible to be apart of it..

 

Don't be afraid to talk to people about it. It will likely play on your mind for a while, if you have nightmares and similar then consider seeing a specialist. PM me if you need any advice.

 

Well done it's not easy, I've witnessed some horrific events in my 30 years in the Police, the images keep in the memory for years, I've been retired nearly 5 years now, but every now and then something will trigger an image, god knows when I will be free of them, talking about it definitely helps.

 

Its horrid, but perhaps use the experience to attend a St.Johns Ambulance first aid course / first on scene training - it may help you get over the shock by knowing you will be better prepared should you ever find yourself in the same situation.

A mate in Thames Valley Police traffic has seen some terrible sights - then also had to knock on doors to break the news their loved one / son / daughter won't be coming home

 

Thanks for all your kind comments, but, it’s not me that was the hero. I just followed the instructions given to me by the F&R guy. He was the hero of the day. I was amazed how calmly he assessed who need the most help and just got on with it. Once other people arrived who had first aid experience I was properly more in the way than anything which is way I left the scene at that point.

I did get a phone call yesterday afternoon from the lady I gave my card to, she said the driver, the lady at the back and the disabled child in the wheelchair were successfully recovered and taken to hospital but didn’t know any outcomes. She also said she had passed on my details to the police and therefore to expect a call from them as they may need a statement.

I also sent an email yesterday to our head of human resources asking if it would be possible to be put on a first aid course, in that way should I ever be put in that situation again I will be better prepared and hopefully know what to do rather than stand with my mouth open.

I slept like a baby last night but keep getting goose bumps every time I think about, which I am trying not to do.

 

Hi, sounded a horrible scene for you. You say that the F and R guy was the hero of the day and took charge but if you hadn't took that incredibly hard step and got stuck in to treat the wounded then the F and R guy would have been on his own, please don't under estimate how much you done.

For the wounded to hear your voice would have been reassuring to them. In my experience, even the most hardened of people never know how they will react, there is nothing wrong in 'freezing' as it's a natural reaction but your instinct was to go into situation probably knowing it wasn't going to be nice and helped the wounded, well done FOC.

As other members have said, please seek help if you feel the need to. If the flashback/ memories come, try to go with them try not to bury them as somewhere along the line they will come out. Your partner maybe the better judge as to any changes in you.

Sorry if I have patronised you but you done brilliantly buddy and if it was someone I knew in that collision it is nice to know that there are still people like you and the other members on this forum who would stop and help whether it is to call the emegencies services, stop traffic or treat wounded etc.
As has often been said on this forum, life is short, make the best of it you can with your family, friends and bikes!!

 

well done david good on you for youre efforts its never a case of being in the way thing if you stop to help someone,all help is usefull