A police officer severely injured in a car accident was able to tell members of the public how to perform first aid that prevented him from bleeding to death.
PC Tom Dorman and another officer were injured when their parked patrol car was struck by another vehicle in Maidenhead, Berkshire, last month.
The sound of the collision, which occurred at around 5.30am, brought residents out of nearby houses, and several members of the public rushed to the aid of the injured officers.
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Dorman, who was outside the car at the time of the crash and took the brunt of the impact, told the BBC that he was experiencing “catastrophic” bleeding from his leg, and could have “died within two minutes” without medical attention.
Despite sustaining injuries so severe that his left leg was later amputated, he was able to guide bystanders through vital first aid techniques to prevent potentially fatal blood loss.
“I think I was working off adrenaline, but I found the resolve to talk to members of the public to instruct one on how to make an improvised tourniquet,” the 26-year-old told Metro.
“I think they used a belt and another a jumper to try to stop the flow of blood and give me more time.”
According to St John Ambulance research, only one in ten Britons is trained to carry out first aid.
Now back at home following four operations, Dorman paid tribute to the bystanders who came to his aid.
“To everyone else who helped, I owe you my life, and I'm very thankful to them,” he said, calling himself “the luckiest person in the world”.
Dorman is undergoing physiotherapy and hopes to return to full-time policing in the next year. In the meantime, he is devoting his energy to “campaigning for police forces to train their officers how to improvise a tourniquet”, says the Maidenhead Advertiser.
Two 24-year-old men from Maidenhead were arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving following the crash. They have since been released under investigation.
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