She muttered a denial as she finally located his body metres away in the grass. How could he possibly have survived?
Staring in horror at his still body, she felt panic numb her brain and for precious seconds she stood frozen, unable to move a muscle. But then the cold winter air flowed under her coat, bringing her to her senses.
After the sickening noise of the crash the air was still and silent, and it was as if she were the only person in the whole world.
But fortunately she wasn’t.
Sounds of a car approaching cut through the frozen silence and Lucy waved her arms frantically as it appeared round the bend.
The car slowed and then came to a halt and a young couple climbed out, picking their way along the icy road
Seeing the danger immediately, Lucy sprinted towards them, her feet slipping on the frozen tarmac. ‘Reverse your car!’
The man looked at her blankly and the woman just stared in horror at the mangled motorbike, her hand over her mouth.
Lucy gestured towards the road. ‘This is a blind bend,’ she said urgently, ‘And there are obviously patches of black ice. If anyone else comes round here too fast there’ll be another accident. Reverse your car and put the hazard warning lights on so that people will see you and slow down.’
‘Gotcha.’ The young man suddenly seemed to pull himself together and dashed back to do as Lucy had ordered.
Aware that the next priority was to summon help, she pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket and rammed it into the young woman’s hand.
‘We need to get some help fast. Take a deep breath,’ Lucy ordered firmly, hoping she sounded more in control than she felt. ‘I’m a nurse and I’ll deal with the accident, but I need you to call 999. Can you do that? Give them our location and tell them that there’s a car and a motorbike involved.’
The woman nodded mutely and Lucy gave her shoulder a squeeze.
‘Good. Quickly, then…’
Feeling slightly better, knowing that help would soon be on the way, she ran back towards the car, hoping that she wouldn’t have to hold the fort by herself for long.
One glance into the car showed her that there was just the driver and one passenger.
‘Tell them two in the car,’ she yelled over her shoulder, hoping that the young woman had managed to contact the ambulance service.
Although the doors had been jammed in the crash, she managed to shout through the windows.
‘Get us out! Get us out!’ The woman was clawing frantically at the door and Lucy glanced over her shoulder to the still figure of the motorcyclist, trying to remember what she’d learned about triage. Surely he had to be her priority. The two in the car were conscious. Or was he beyond help? In which case, she needed to rescue the two in the car.
With a whimper of panic she turned back to the couple in the car and gestured to the sun roof, suggesting that they try and open it. Then she turned her attention to the motorcyclist.
She had to assess his injuries. If he was dead, then the couple in the car became the priority, but if he wasn’t…
Oh, please, God, don’t let him be dead.
Her heart thumping, her feet crunched on the frozen grass and she dropped to her knees next to his body, trying to subdue the panic that was bubbling up inside her. It had been years since she’d done any A and E work and even then it had only been when she’d been training. But she knew the principles, she reminded herself firmly. ABC. Airway, breathing, circulation.
The cold from the ground oozed up and numbed her knees, but she didn’t even notice.
‘The ambulance is on its way.’ The young man was back by her side. ‘Here, let me help you take his helmet off.’
‘No!’ Lucy reached out a hand to stop him touching the injured motorcyclist, her voice sharper than she’d intended. ‘You should never remove the helmet unless breathing is compromised. The helmet is supporting his neck and if we take it off…’
She wasn’t qualified to help this man.
She was a practice nurse, for goodness’ sake, not a paramedic.
Airway—she had to check his airway.
She leaned closer and just at that moment the man groaned and muttered something.