Teenager Left Unconscious After High-Speed Mountain Bike Crash Rescued by Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Topcliffe-based crew, comprised of Paramedic Stew Ashburner-McManus and Paramedic Fiona Blaylock, was dispatched to the scene, joining the land crew on a narrow trail around five miles from the nearest road.

On arrival, Fiona and Stew found Caitlin conscious but not speaking, responding only with eye opening and movement to commands. With a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 11 and clear signs of a head injury, the team carried out a focused neurological assessment to establish the extent of her symptoms.

Stew said, “Given the speed she’d come off her bike and how limited her responses were, we were worried about how much her brain had been affected. In cases like this, you start thinking ahead about whether a patient may need to be placed in a medical coma to protect their brain from further deterioration.”

Caitlin’s reduced responsiveness suggested she might soon struggle to maintain her airway, prompting the crew to prepare for the possibility of performing a Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), the procedure used to place a patient into a medically induced coma to protect their brain. As an RSI can only be carried out by a doctor, they requested the doctor-led critical care team from the charity’s Nostell Air Base to attend.

While waiting for the Nostell crew to arrive, Fiona and Stew began preparing Caitlin for their arrival by moving her off the trail floor and onto a scoop stretcher, making any onward transfer or medical interventions easier. Within minutes, the Nostell crew landed nearby, and Dr James Sen and Paramedic Tom Chatwyn made their way to the scene with the help of a local groundsman, who drove them part of the way up the woodland track in his pickup truck.

After receiving a full handover, Dr James reassessed Caitlin and found her condition had improved; she was now giving short answers, and her Glasgow Coma Scale score had improved.

Dr James said, “Caitlin hadn’t been responding earlier, but by the time we arrived she was able to answer our questions. That improvement was reassuring and showed us that her brain was receiving enough oxygen, meaning we didn’t need to put her to sleep.”

With her injuries including a deep facial laceration, chest abrasions from the impact and suspected spinal damage, the teams worked together to stabilise Caitlin and manage her pain before preparing her for rapid transport. Given the remote location and the fact that the nearest major trauma centre was more than an hour away by road, Caitlin was flown to James Cook University Hospital in a seven-minute flight.

Caitlin spent three days in hospital, where scans revealed multiple fractures including her jaw, nose, finger, and a T7 spinal fracture. She is now recovering at home and despite the seriousness of her injuries, Caitlin is determined to return to the sport she loves.