A teenager who nearly died when a 4×4 drove over him in a horrific accident has thanked the paramedics who saved his life.
Oliver Goodacre, 17, was hit by a 1.5-tonne Nissan Qashqai when he tripped while crossing Radcliffe Road in West Bridgford.
He suffered a broken skull and both his lungs were punctured when the front and back wheels of the vehicle went over him.
But he survived and made a full recovery thanks to the skills of the four paramedics who arrived on the scene to stabilise him and take him to the Queen’s Medical Centre within minutes.
On Monday he came face-to-face with all of them for the first time after sending an email asking to thank them in person.
The accident happened after he left McDonald’s on Radcliffe Road to walk home after going to a house party on September 20 last year.
Oliver said: “The last thing I remember is going in to McDonald’s and the next thing after that I just remember waking up in hospital two days later thinking ‘I must have fallen off my bike’.
“I woke up not knowing what I or my family had been through.
“At the end of the day these guys are why I’m still here talking. They did an unbelievable job that night. They deserve all my thanks and I’ll always be grateful for what they did.”
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) paramedic Paul Bass was first on the scene in a fast response car, four minutes after Oliver’s friends called 999.
“Oliver was just lying on the road with a group of people around him when I got there,” Paul said.
“I could see it was a serious job straight away but there were some bystanders that were medically trained and had already started to help. I was quickly backed up by an ambulance crew and a doctor and we took it from there.
“It is fantastic to be thanked in person – normally the last time you see a patient is when you hand them over to a doctor at a hospital. There are always jobs that stick in your mind and this is one of them.”
Dr Tim Baker volunteers on the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme – a group of medics who give up their spare time to help EMAS at serious incidents.
He also rushed to the scene to stabilise Oliver and give him pain relief before the journey to hospital – then went to his regular job as a GP the next day.
“You know every minute matters in a situation like that,” he said.
“It’s absolutely tremendous to be able see him again and hear him say thank you.”
Oliver is now studying for his A-Levels at West Bridgford School after spending two days in a coma – but only around a week in hospital after the accident.
Aside from some memory loss, he also lost the sight in his right eye.
But he escaped the crash otherwise completely unscathed and is now playing football again.
Medics said the quick response combined with Oliver’s good health and the fact the car was travelling within the road’s 30mph speed limit helped him avoid more serious injury.
His mum Linda and dad Paul also met the five medics at EMAS headquarters at Nottingham Buinsess Park, Strelley, on Monday.
Linda said: “I remember I got a call from his best friend who was with him and said Oliver had been in a car accident and said he knew he wasn’t dead because he was still moving.
“My thoughts were how my life could suddenly change forever, all the time I was saying ‘please don’t die’.
“I just wanted to say thank you – I’m overwhelmed by the care they showed and their professionalism.”
Dad Paul said: “You are just almost praying, I was saying ‘please let him be alive’. I don’t think I can put in to words how grateful I am. I get emotional talking about it. You can’t believe he went through that and survived.”
Oliver now hopes to go to university after completing his A-Levels and is hoping for a career as a sport coach.
The female driver of the car was unhurt and faced no action from police, who ruled the incident was an accident.
