The latest episode of Yorkshire Air 999, airing on Really and discovery+ this Friday 10th October at 9PM, follows the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) team as they respond to a serious collision near Howden, East Yorkshire, where a cyclist was trapped beneath a van.
60-year-old Tom Jones had just set out on his afternoon bike ride, only a few hundred metres from his home, when he was involved in a collision at a junction. The impact threw him from his bike and under the van, where he was dragged along the road before becoming trapped beneath the engine block and exhaust system for more than 30 minutes. Local paramedics began initial treatment at the roadside while Fire and Rescue crews worked to free him from beneath the vehicle.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Topcliffe-based Critical Care Team, consisting of Paramedics Danny Cooper and Andy Watson, were scrambled to the scene, flying the 17-minute journey to provide advanced medical support.
Speaking en route, Paramedic Danny explained, “With the information being quite limited before we arrived, we were anticipating anything. A collision between a cyclist and a van could mean broken bones, spinal injuries, or severe burns. What we did know was that he was in significant pain.”
Landing in a nearby field, the YAA crew made their way to the scene, where they joined the rescue efforts. Tom had been freed moments earlier, covered in oil and coolant fluid from the van, with visible burns and lacerations to his back and legs. He was conscious but in significant distress, struggling to breathe and experiencing pain in his chest and back.
Paramedic Danny said, “We could tell he was in a lot of discomfort, and we needed to work out exactly what was going on. Because Tom was covered in oil, it made assessing his burns and injuries quite difficult, so we prioritised getting him into the back of the land ambulance where we could properly examine him.”
Once inside the privacy of the land ambulance, the YAA team carried out a thorough assessment, checking Tom’s vital signs and looking for any additional injuries. They carefully cut away sections of his clothing to examine the burns, which extended across his torso, lower back and side, before wrapping him in a thermal blanket to prevent hypothermia, a common risk in trauma patients. Concerned about possible full-thickness burns, the team worked quickly to wash and dress the wounds while continuing to monitor his breathing and overall condition.
With concerns about possible internal or crush injuries, Paramedic Andy administered morphine to keep Tom comfortable during transport for urgent hospital scans.
Tom was transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he was diagnosed with deep second-degree burns, broken vertebrae, five fractured ribs, and breaks to both shoulder blades. He underwent a procedure under anaesthetic to clean and treat the burns and spent four days in hospital before returning home to continue his recovery.
Speaking about the accident, Tom said, “I set off for a quick ride and from that point on I remember nothing until I woke up under the van. I just felt this tremendous pressure on my head through the cycle helmet and pain in my chest and back. The engine coolant was leaking onto my leg and burning my skin. My bike has a live tracking feature, and just two minutes after I’d left home, my wife got a notification saying I’d been in an accident. When she arrived, she said she saw my feet sticking out from under the van, it must have been awful for her. I’m very much an outdoor person, so being housebound during recovery has been tough, but it makes you appreciate the small things in life. I’m so lucky to be alive, and I can’t thank everyone enough, the Fire and Rescue crews, paramedics, and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance team were all fantastic.”
Tom’s bike, a retirement gift to himself, was written off in the accident, and it’s uncertain whether he will feel ready to ride again. Alongside Tom’s story, this episode also features a teenage motocross rider who shattered his femur, a 68-year-old man who broke his ankle during a cricket match, and a man who suffered a life-threatening leg injury while removing a tree stump from his son’s garden.