Motorcyclist given CPR on M1 as man’s life saved on busy motorway

Nottinghamshire Police officers helped save a motorcyclist's life after finding him unconscious on the M1. Four police[1] vehicles were travelling to Northamptonshire for an off-road training exercise when they came across standstill traffic. Believing an accident had just happened, the police units travelled down the hard shoulder and found a motorcyclist lying motionless in the road.

He was not breathing and so Deputy Chief Driving Instructor Alan Rawsthorne performed emergency first aid, including CPR, with help from Operational Support officers PC Brown and PC Johnston. Together they saved his life. Recalling the incident on the M1 in Leicestershire on Tuesday morning (8 April), Alan said: "We came across slow-moving traffic which had become stationary at a spot that doesn't usually encounter any traffic problems.

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"It was a bit unusual so we went down the hard shoulder and at the front of the queue we spotted the motorcyclist lying motionless in the outside lane. His motorbike was further down the road having possibly hit the central barrier. "We stopped, went across and straight away we could tell he was unconscious and wasn't breathing.

He didn't have any pulse. "I started CPR whilst the Operational Support officers removed his helmet and cut the rider's jacket and clothing off, allowing the placement of the defibrillator pads on his chest. "After a few minutes of chest compressions, we essentially managed to bring him back to life.

"From there we stabilised his head and airway, checked him over for further injuries and that's when the ambulances, helicopter and fire engines began to arrive." Alan, who volunteers as a first responder for East Midlands Ambulance Service[2] in his spare time, revealed the outcome would have been very different had they not taken an advanced first-aid kit with them.

The former firearms instructor said: "I'd been lobbying for an advanced first-aid kit for the driver training team and thankfully it arrived about a month ago. "We went to the cars on the morning and realising that the first aid kit had not been put in the car I went back to the office and grabbed it.

"I put it in the car because you never know when you're going to need it. Sure enough, we needed it that day." The incident, between junctions 20 and 21, led to the motorway being shut in both directions to allow the air ambulance to land.

Alan said he and his colleagues had been thanked by Leicestershire Police for the part they played in saving the motorcyclist's life. He said: "The day after we had an email from a Leicestershire officer saying the motorcyclist was still in hospital and that his condition was serious but stable, and also thanking us for the first aid we did before handing over to the Helimed doctor. "We've since been informed he has been discharged from hospital, which is fantastic news."

Nottinghamshire Police's Chief Driving Instructor Andy Diggle said Alan and the two police officers deserved enormous credit for saving the man's life. He said: "We are all very proud of Alan and the two police officers. Alan is very passionate about first aid and has championed lifesaving skills in the Driver Training team, ultimately obtaining equipment for the team that has now been used to save a man's life.

"Between them they gave the motorcycle rider a chance to receive specialist lifesaving medical care at hospital.

They deserve recognition for their actions in such a dynamic road environment."

References

1. ^ police (www.nottinghampost.com)
2. ^ East Midlands Ambulance Service (www.nottinghampost.com)