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Bus crash victim thanks air medics
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| MY HEROES: Ben Conroy meets air ambulance crew members Jane Peacock, Paul Scott and Chris Attrill |
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A SCHOOLBOY seriously injured
in a bus crash last year
has thanked the air ambulance
crew who saved his life.
Ben Conroy, now 13, suffered
a broken ankle, damaged
knee ligaments, a fractured
pelvis, broken ribs and
a punctured lung in the incident
in Hartlepool, on July 11,
last year.
He had to be airlifted to the
intensive care unit at The
James Cook University Hospital,
in Middlesbrough, after
being struck when an out-ofcontrol
bus mounted the pavement
outside English Martyrs
School.
Yesterday, the Great North
Air Ambulance landed at the
school, where Ben presented
the crew with a cheque for
£12,777.
As he handed over the
money, Ben said: "I want to
say thank you for what they
have done. It's just been amazing
seeing the ambulance."
Ben raised the money
through a series of fundraising
events since the accident.
His father, Paul, said: "He
was in a very serious condition
- we didn't know whether
it was going to be life or death
at that point.
"It was a really tough time,
especially when he was in intensive
care. He's still not 100
per cent, he's got some way to
go, but it's a miracle. He was
saved by the air ambulance."
Ben's mother, Jane, said:
"He's very determined. He
pushed through all the pain
barriers. We are very proud of
him."
Great North Air Ambulance
paramedic Paul Scott
said: "For a 13-year-old to put
himself out and raise all this
money is excellent. He's done
a remarkable job."
Meanwhile, the helicopter's
pilot, Chris Attrill, has spoken
of the moment he first heard
the emergency call.
Mr Attrill said: "We were
going to a different task at the
time when we heard the information
coming over the
radio.
"The police had already
been activated by one of our
paramedics back at the air
desk.
"They were first to arrive at
the scene, but we arrived
shortly afterwards.
"We were only on the
ground for about five minutes
- Ben was all packed up and
put in the aircraft and we
were at James Cook hospital
about five minutes later."
8:49am Thursday 3rd July 2008
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CommentPosted by: Georgia, Hartlepool on 5:11pm Sat 5 Jul 08
[bold][italic]it was a really tragic event i was on the bus behind and it was awful to see it it was like slow motion.[/italic][/bold]
it was a really tragic event i was on the bus behind and it was awful to see it it was like slow motion.
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