A NORTHSIDE man has described how he and his wife came to the rescue of a woman involved in a car crash in France less than an hour after they arrived in the country for their holidays.
Anthony Shiels, from Artane, his wife Maeve and their two children, Zoe (10) and Tara (14), arrived home from their two-week vacation last Saturday week (July 12).
However, on the first day of their holiday (June 29), they were travelling from the French port of Roscoff to their holiday resort, Domaine Des Ormes, when the drama unfolded.
“We were only on the motorway less than an hour when I spotted smoke billowing from a bush,
? Anthony told Northside People.
“I then noticed a car had crashed into a ditch just off the road. It seemed the crash had happened shortly before we drove by. It was a fast motorway and I drove 100 yards ahead of the site and came back.
“At first I thought the car windows were tinted, but when I got closer I realised it was black smoke.
“Then I couldn’t believe it when I saw a hand beating on the glass. I got the door open and black smoke gushed out.
“I saw that there was a woman, who I reckon was about 55, trapped upside down. There was about a foot between her and the ceiling of the car. She was in a daze and appeared to be drifting in and out of consciousness. The air bag had hit her in the face.
“She was wearing a seat belt but at first it was very difficult to get it open. Eventually I managed to get the belt open with my thumbs. As soon as the belt was released she fell forward and we eased her down as gently as we possibly could.
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The woman was French and according to Anthony, had no English.
“She was screaming in pain from her injuries, while I was desperately trying to explain to her that we just had to get her out of the car in case it exploded,
? he explained.
“I was well aware that it’s advisable not to move a person in this type of situation, but in this case we had absolutely no choice. There was petrol pouring out of the front of the car and I was convinced that it was going to explode at any moment and would go up in flames. We just had to get her out as quickly as possible.
“My wife and I managed to drag her a few feet from the car. We didn’t know what the emergency service number for France was so we flagged down a French car.
“The motorist had no English either. He then flagged down another car and that motorist had broken English. He rang the emergency services, and after about 10 minutes, an ambulance and a firebrigade arrived on the scene. After they tended to the woman, they brought her to hospital.
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Anthony said the woman’s injuries seemed to be concentrated mainly around the shoulder and neck area.
“Smoke inhalation was probably the worst thing she suffered from though,
? he stated.
“She would definitely have died if we hadn’t got to her. Even though it was a fast motorway, nobody was stopping. I was really surprised at that. If it happened in Ireland, there would be people queuing up to help.
“I was surprised the police weren’t called to take contact details from us either. It’s something I would have expected after an accident.
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Anthony said the situation was so surreal when he walked towards the crash scene. While the drama was unfolding the couple’s children stayed in their own car but were shocked by what had happened.
After the woman was moved from the car, Maeve went back to it to retrieve her belongings, including her phone and handbag. She was able to give them to the injured woman before she went off in the ambulance.
Anthony added:
“The guys with the Emergency Service had no English, but the driver with the broken English thanked us for what we had done.
“Hopefully the woman will be okay and she will make a full recovery.
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