A quick-thinking Bury mum saved a driver’s life after he ploughed into a tree as he suffered a heart attack at the wheel.
Leanne Richards (39) was walking home after dropping her daughter off at school when she saw a white van had left the road and collided with a tree on Walmersley Road.
A witness had called an ambulance by the time Leanne arrived but she quickly took control of the situation and, with help from the passenger, dragged 56-year-old logistics driver Mick Symcock out of the front seat.
She than began CPR – training she had only had once when she volunteered at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester.
Leanne, who works as a cleaner, said: “I’d never done CPR before in real life, only on the dummies you get on first aid courses. But there was no time to waste as I was told he’d been unresponsive at the wheel for a few minutes.
“I was just wired with adrenaline but I was chuffed to bits when I found a pulse – and I was really lucky that a retired nurse just happened to walk by and she helped me.
“Everyone should do a CPR course – it’s so important and you never know when you will need to use it. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be saving someone’s life on the school run. Paramedics told me that the intervention saved his life.”
Mick is now making a full recovery, having spent time in intensive care and had stents implanted.
Allison Sadler, who stopped to help, said: “If Leanne hadn’t made the decision to get Mick out of the van, the outcome would have been very different. She had started good CPR already when I came along. As a recently retired nurse I offered help and she gracefully accepted. We worked on Mick as a team until the crew arrived.
“Doing CPR on the cold, muddy grass is quite different to a hospital environment. Leanne had first aid experience and I would encourage everyone to attend a course or watch something online so that they can help if needs be as the moments before a defib are critical.”
Mick’s boss Lee texted Leanne to say: “Without your intervention, I do believe Mick wouldn’t be here now. He’s sat up now in a chair and even started to have a conversation. Things are looking better daily.”
Image: Leanne Richards (right) with her daughter, Molly
