Anatomy of a road accident

Andrew Swinburn is training manager for the Lancashire Ambulance Service's Accrington-based trauma management.

He said: "The level of injury depends largely on the speed the car was going at.

"But hitting the steering wheel column just at 35mph is like having a telegraph pole driven into your chest.

"In the past we would try to stabilise them at the scene but now our aim is to get them to definitive care as quickly as possible." "Each part of the chain relies on everybody else moving things along as quickly as they can.

"Once we have access to a casualty we check their airway, breathing and circulation."

Injuries are dictated by the nature of the crash, a head on collision will create chest injuries, leg, neck, hips and abdomen.

A side impact is the most lethal as the level of crash protection is at its lowest. Rear impact is the safest, with neck injuries the most common.

Mr Swinburn said: "It is far worse if you are not wearing a seat belt because you will be moving around the car and there is more chance of colliding with something.

"A roll over is six times more likely to be fatal."

He added: "It is difficult to assess the injuries because often the roof has crumpled in and we can't even see the casualty. There is more chance of multi-system trauma."

Paramedics have found that when an accident involves a young driver it is likely that there will be other casualties in the car.

Mr Swinburn said: "Young people often have older cars and they aren't always well maintained."

Mr Swinburn once came across a serious accident while off-duty.

"The young man had rolled his car and was intoxicated," he said.

"He was unconscious and upside down. The car hadn't survived the crash well and it was very difficult to get to him. I had to sit and wait for the crew to arrive. I knew what I wanted to do but I couldn't because I didn't have my kit."

He added: "We attend too many of this type of accident. If these young drivers saw the effect that a torn and crumpled car has on the human body they might slow down."

TRAFFIC POLICEMAN'S STORY.

SERGEANT Keith Jackson, the road policing unit at Accrington, was the senior investigating officer at the Livesey Branch Road accident that claimed the life of 22-year-old Matthew Hannon last year.

He said: "When you are out driving you see the signs of an accident, the broken bits of glass the dented railings but you don't see the full horror unless you are there," he said. "You never forget the face of a young man lying dead on the road.

"My message to young drivers would be be more careful on the roads. They all think they are invincible and yet all too frequently the emergency services find out that they are not."

Many of the accidents Sgt Jackson has dealt with during his seven years with the unit have involved young drivers. He said: "Their automatic reaction may often be wrong because they don't have as much driving experience as an older driver and that puts them in danger "They get fast cars and then modify them to go even faster. They are just so desperate to make their car go faster but often it costs them their lives."

Following a crash police officers seal off the road so that the emergency services can work in safety and any evidence can be preserved.

"We get as much information about the accident on the way to the scene as possible so we can start working out what we will need to do," explained Sgt Jackson.

"The main priority is to get the casualties treated and then get them away to hospital, but because there may be a prosecution in the future we need to secure the scene.

"We will start to look at what has happened. We look at the skid marks on the road, things the car may have crashed into, the debris that has been left behind.

"If a driver has not stopped at the scene and has abandoned their car, we can take DNA from the seat or steering wheel."

Officers will make house-to-house inquiries and video the scene - if someone dies in the accident it could lead to a murder investigation Sgt Jackson added: "The damage caused by the impact will also give us an idea of the speed that the car was travelling at. A lot of accidents are caused by excessive speed for the road that they are on."

PARENTS' STORY.

Terry and Ann Hannon lost their son Matthew in an accident while he was racing his friend in Livesey Branch Road in January 2006.

In a cruel twist of fate the parents of BAE engineer Matthew, of St Phillips Street, Blackburn, were walking their dog close to the scene of their son's accident.

After hearing the sound of the impact Terry, 47, rushed to help. Ann returned to their home on Kingsley Close but as soon as she heard the phone ring she knew what had happened.

Ann, 43, said: "Terry rang and I knew. I jumped in my car and went back to the scene.

"It was like something from an American movie. There was an 80ft trail of debris.

"I saw Terry standing there and he looked so shocked and helpless.

"I saw the car and started shaking. I could see Matthew lying there and I couldn't get to him. It was the most horrendous feeling in the world."

Terry added: "I saw the paramedics working on Matthew in a garden. One of them made a gesture that they should quit and I knew they had given up on him."

The couple rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital, but were told that nothing else could be done.

"To be given the news that your son is dead, it is devastating," said Terry.

"I was thinking no matter how bad he is he'll live. I was just willing it.

"My son was my best friend. No family should have to go through what we have."

The family are keen supporters of the Lancashire Telegraph's Wasted Lives campaign.

"We want to get the message to everybody," said Ann. "Matthew wouldn't have wanted this for us, this suffering. We don't want other families to go through what we have - we are urging young drivers to think of their responsibility when they are behind the wheel."

FIREMAN'S STORY.

BLACKBURN-based John Riley has been a fireman for 21 years and has lost count of the number of serious road accidents he has attended. But it still doesn't get any easier.

He said: "I attended one accident on the Grane Road where two students had been burned to death in their car. That is something that will stay with me forever.

"In a way the fatalities aren't as bad because there isn't any more pain. The injured affect me more - the screaming stays with you. You want to help and you feel frustrated .

"If a young driver saw that they would think twice before speeding. If they saw the injuries they wouldn't put their foot down on the accelerator."

"One of the worst things is when we remove an engine that has trapped someone's legs. As we take it out it eases the pressure on their legs but that increases the pain as the blood starts to flow - they will scream and scream. It feels like you are making it worse, but we have to get them out.

"There are bits of the car everywhere, debris in the road and the injured walking around in shock," he said. "We have to act very quickly because of the golden hour we have to get the people out of the car, into the ambulance and on to the operating table."

The crew will assess where they need to cut the car open using hydraulic shears or a spreader.

"If a casualty is involved in a front impact collision then the engine is often shunted back on to their legs and we need to create space," said Mr Riley.

"We have to make as much room as possible for the paramedics to work in - a spinal board is usually brought in at an acute angle through the roof.

"In nine out of 10 accidents we have to remove the roof - even a little bump can turn into a major cutting routine.

"There is lots of noise and screeching of the cutters as they rip through the metal. The snapping of the metal is a very daunting sound for those trapped inside."

If a car has rolled over and compacted the roof it makes the fire brigade's job much harder, not only because the casualties cannot be reached but also because it can be difficult to see how many casualties there actually are.

There are other concerns too.

"We have to be very careful in case there is any leaking petrol," said Mr Riley. "New cars will stop pumping fuel on impact but older cars spew out fuel.

"The car's battery is still attached so the priority is to remove the battery to lessen the risk of sparks."