Episode 19 Close Calls: On Camera

A close call - a moment of danger when life can hang in the balance.

I could die here. This is really serious.

A split second where the outcome could go either way.

Right, call 999 now.

The difference between disaster and survival.

You could see it on the faces of the crew how life-threatening this was.

Why would you need to swim?

Apparently, they're supposed to still be on a boat.

These are the people that have been there and lived to tell the tale.

I thought she had died.

It's a day they'll never forget.

The day they had a close call.

Today on Close Calls,

a family on their way home from a holiday weekend

break down on a busy dual carriageway.

There's no hard shoulder.

A lorry driver fails to spot them.

Another motorist rushes to their aid.

Am I going to be pulling somebody's head off a windscreen?

I just didn't know what to expect.

And a lifeboat crew receive reports of a sinking speedboat.

They race across the water, worried they might be too late.

Our initial fears were they may possibly have drowned.

Also today, a grandfather mountain biking with a pal

crash lands headfirst.

They're in a remote location.

His friend dials 999.

The A55, North Wales -

a family car has broken down and come to a halt in the slow lane.

Inside are a grandmother, her daughter

and two young grandchildren.

The children's mum sees the danger coming.

I'm looking in my wing mirror and seeing this lorry.

I just couldn't stop watching him -

and I said to my mum, "There's a lorry coming."

The lorry driver sees them too late.

The huge truck smashes into the rear of the car,

where the children are sitting.

Another family witness the horrifying accident.

-What

-BLEEP?

Did you see it? It was awful.

The cab twisted to the left, just jumped into the air.

The driver, he kept it straight.

I don't know how. The point it was rocking,

that was one of the scariest things I've seen, really.

Huyton in Liverpool is home to Paula and her daughters,

nine-year-old Georgia and five-year-old Amelia.

Paula's mum, Lynn, lives on the same street,

and the family see each other every day.

I don't know what I'd do without her. We go everywhere together.

Holidays together.

Caravan trips together.

We are always going somewhere together, doing something together.

I've always been close to my mum.

Really close to her. She's more like my best friend.

We're always just out and about, me and my mum and the two girls.

It's half term, and the close-knit family

have been spending time together

in Towyn near Rhyl in North Wales.

For years, the family have enjoyed seaside holidays

in Lynn's caravan there, but with plans to travel abroad,

she's taken the decision to sell up.

We decided to make it our last trip.

While we were there, we did take the girls out.

We took them to the fair and we did have a good time.

The morning they were coming home, we both felt sad -

and then the friends who were coming to buy the van from us arrived

and we had a cup of tea with them

and I gave them the keys and then we left.

They set off in their four-wheel drive.

Lynn's driving with Paula in the passenger seat

and the two girls in the rear.

We drove down the country lanes, we were all singing.

The children were singing in the back.

We had smothered them around with the quilts, as well,

in case they wanted to have a sleep on the way home.

After a short time on the back roads, the family take the A55,

the main express way connecting North Wales with the North West.

Travelling on the same road are the Atkinson family.

The dashboard camera on their car is recording the traffic

as they head back after a day out in Rhyl. Dad Neil is driving.

It had been a lovely day.

We'd had fish and chips, we'd played on the beach.

We'd played in the arcades.

We'd been to see some friends.

We were heading off home.

Clear skies, dry road.

It was a lovely driving day, really.

Lynn's car is ahead of Neil's as the road expands from a two-lane

to a three-lane carriageway.

She's heading up the hill

when her car suffers a sudden total loss of power.

We'd just come around a bend and we were going up.

Halfway up, the car just cut out.

The girls, of course, were, "Nan, what's happened to the car?"

I said, "It's all right, girls, Nan will pull over now."

Lynn edges to the side of the road, trying to find a safe place to stop.

And I pulled over to the barrier as far as I could,

but I had no engine on because it had cut out,

so we crawled along to a stop.

But there's no hard shoulder and the family are at the mercy

of the fast flowing traffic.

Neil is catching them up.

His dashboard camera shows a lorry approaching the hill.

Paula looks anxiously behind her

and spots it heading towards them in the slow lane.

I'm looking in my wing mirror and seeing this lorry.

I just couldn't stop watching him -

and I said to my mum, "There is a lorry coming."

I said, "He's got plenty of time.

"Stop panicking. You will worry the children."

He was getting closer and I said, "He hasn't put his indicator on,"

and my mum said, "He's fine.

"He's got loads of time to see us."

Neil's camera picks up Lynn's car

only just visible in front of the lorry -

but it's not the only camera filming that day.

The lorry has one, too.

Lynn's four by four, its hazards flashing, is clearly visible.

In the front seat, Paula is becoming frantic.

I thought to myself, surely he's going to move.

Surely he's going to move -

but there's no indication, nothing.

Neil's car is also getting closer to the lorry.

He is aware other drivers are moving lane.

They've seen something.

I was conscious, I was aware that there was an obstacle there

because the cars in front of the lorry were moving over to the right.

But the driver of the HGV isn't.

Aware of Paula's growing desperation,

Lynn tries to get the engine going again.

I went to start the car, and as I did, she screamed at me,

"Mum, he's not going to stop,"

and, as she said it, we both witnessed the front of his truck

coming through the back of the car.

This moment, recorded by the lorry's own camera,

shows the 44 tonne juggernaut smashing into the family car.

The driver swerves, but it's too late.

The impact sends the car into a terrifying spin.

Neil and his family witness it all.

-BLEEP

-Did you see it?

-Yeah.

That was awful.

The cab twisted to the left, just jumped into the air.

The driver, he kept it straight.

I don't know how. The point it was rocking,

that was just one of the scariest things I've seen, really.

The main point of impact is the offside rear of Lynn's car,

where her two granddaughters are sitting.

I knew that at that instant,

there was nothing I could do to get to them.

I remember screaming, hold on tight.

It was grinding, crunching,

we were spinning around -

but all the time we were spinning, I thought, the kids are gone.

It's all over in a couple of seconds.

The mangled wreckage emerges from behind the lorry.

Lynn has taken a blow to the head.

She's out cold -

but her daughter's screams bring her around.

And she was screaming, Amelia's dead.

Amelia's dead. Which is the little one.

Amelia had, I think it was a quilt

that fell over her, so I couldn't see her face,

I couldn't see movement or nothing.

Neil pulls up in front of the accident,

leaving his wife and children in the car and races back.

He's full of foreboding.

Am I going to be...

Are you going to be covering people with a blanket?

Are you going to be trying to stem blood flow?

Am I going to be pulling somebody's head off a windscreen?

I just didn't know what to expect at that time.

Nine-year-old Georgia emerges from the wreckage,

but Paula still can't see four-year-old Amelia.

I was, at this point, hysterical, screaming, "The baby.

"My baby's dead."

Lynn struggles out of the driver's seat,

desperate to check on her youngest granddaughter.

I managed to pull the quilt off her face

and see that she was still alive

and she was silently crying,

and I shouted, "Paula, she's alive."

But to go from feeling like you've lost her

to actually, no, she's OK,

there's no words to explain that feeling.

It...

You know, it's like...

It's just massive, massive relief.

But that relief turns to dread as her mum, Lynn,

suddenly collapses on the road.

I thought, what's wrong with my mum?

As she does, Neil arrives at the shocking scene.

As I saw the back of the car, it was just horrific.

It was all smashed in, it was totalled.

It was... I don't think there was a window untouched.

it was just totally smashed in.

I got round the side of the car

and the driver was crumpled on the floor.

Never seen anything like it in real life.

It's what you see in films.

Neil dials 999, but help is already at hand.

A doctor in the traffic behind, stops, too, and goes to help Lynn.

And I was telling her, I can't breathe.

I've got chest pains.

I think I'm going to die.

The emergency services arrive

and rescue little Amelia from the wrecked vehicle,

while Lynn is transferred to an ambulance.

Her blood pressure has crashed.

She's taken to Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Paula and the children travel in a separate ambulance.

Neil goes back to his car and continues his journey home

to Stockport with his family.

The drive home was very sombre, very quiet.

It was a case of, what if that could have been us?

At hospital, Lynn and her family are checked over and X-rayed.

She has a broken rib, and is treated for a cut to her lip.

Georgia suffers a hairline fracture to her hip,

while Paula and Amelia escape with cuts and serious bruising.

Later that evening, all four are allowed home.

The driver of the lorry

was found guilty of careless driving and fined.

Lynn, Paula, and the children have since recovered from their injuries,

but the shock has stayed with them.

It was more than a close call.

I can't believe we're here to tell the tale.

Even after all these months, it's still very raw.

I didn't watch the video.

I can't watch it knowing that the kids are in the back of that car

while that lorry's hitting it.

I just can't bring myself to look at it.

And all the what ifs...

..still keep coming.

We're just lucky, aren't we?

Coming up later...

..a mountain biker crash lands.

His worried friend calls the emergency services.

The Solent near Portsmouth.

An upended speedboat floats in the water.

Its passengers are nowhere to be seen.

The 14-foot vessel has been swamped by the wash of a passing tanker,

forcing the family on board to jump into the water.

A lifeboat crew film as they speed towards the scene.

As we were getting round there, we didn't know what we were getting to.

Jewellery shop manager Rhiannon and her boyfriend Jethro,

known as Jet for short, have been together for the last four years -

but the pair first met when they were teenagers.

You know, it was just a crush at that point,

but, yeah, and then, you know, life went on.

We lost contact for 14 years or so,

and then we re-met in our 30s.

Yeah, and the first time we met up,

we sort of didn't really stop seeing each other after that.

The couple live in the seaside resort of Southsea in Portsmouth.

I think both of us love living on the coast.

I prefer to be on the shore,

whereas Rhiannon likes to be out on the water.

So much so that she decides to buy a second-hand speedboat.

I just thought it would be really nice, you know,

take it over to the Isle of Wight.

Go fishing. You did think I was mad,

but when I get things in my head I kind of just think...

..well, actually, why not?

That's when I looked at and bought it.

It's a Saturday in April.

Rhiannon and Jet are looking forward to their second outing in the boat.

They're planning a 14-mile trip along the Solent,

from their local marina in Portsmouth, to the Isle of Wight,

taking Jet's 12-year-old daughter, Tia, with them.

It was sort of a, you know, proper planned day.

Packed lunch...

The hour journey across the busy stretch of water goes smoothly.

The boat was working well.

We had stopped, we'd had our picnic at the Isle of Wight.

However, on the way back, the conditions are very different.

Due to the tide coming out and being against the direction of the wind,

we noticed that the choppy waves were starting to build up -

but it was nothing that the boat couldn't handle.

But they're alongside a major shipping lane.

Then saw the cargo ship, quite a big one.

The vessel creates a substantial wash

as it ploughs through the water.

You just don't think the wash is going to be that big

when the cargo was that far away.

But it is,

creating a large wave which suddenly surges over the top of their boat

and takes out the windscreen.

The force of the water was quite shocking, actually.

It's followed by another.

I then noticed the second wave coming, even bigger than the first,

and that just swamped the boat.

Then, all of a sudden I felt like I'd jumped into a swimming pool,

cos I didn't see the wave coming.

I turned around, and I could see the stern and the engine

were actually under water.

And then I pretty much knew that that was it.

Flooded, their speedboat rapidly sinks.

Jet's first instinct is to protect Tia.

I'd grabbed my daughter and we went into the sea.

30 seconds, and then that was it.

The water's choppy and at this time of year, it's still very cold.

I think I was in a bit of shock and thinking, "Really?

"Is this happening?"

We were about 300/400 metres from the shore,

and so we gathered into a group and started kicking.

But the tide's against them and pushing them backwards.

After five minutes of swimming,

we were actually further away from the shore than when we started.

And that's not all, they're being dragged towards the shipping lane!

That's when I started to realise what danger we were really in.

But they'd been spotted from the shore.

Their small speedboat has gone down

opposite the local volunteer lifeboat station,

the Gosport & Fareham Inshore Rescue Service,

known as GAFIRS.

Control room staff alert their rescue boat

currently patrolling Portsmouth harbour.

Crew member James Baggott is on board.

They could see that the people were in trouble.

We knew it was something that we had to get to, and get to fast.

The boat, piloted by senior coxswain Brian Pack, heads back,

its siren blaring.

James is filming from a body camera.

Our initial fears

was that they may be suffering from quite severe hypothermia,

or, even, possibly they've drowned.

Several miles away, Rhiannon, Jet, and Tia

have been fighting against the tide for ten minutes.

They're cold and exhausted.

It was so choppy at that point

that, you know, the waves were just going over.

I was looking around for other boats.

They're in luck. Highly experienced sailors John and Debbie

are practising in their racing dinghy

when they notice the front of the sunken speedboat

sticking out of the water.

We spotted that,

and obviously you assume that there's going to be people in it

who are no longer in it and floating.

And they're likely to be getting very, very cold, very quickly.

They immediately start searching.

And there was debris everywhere,

oars and bags and bits and pieces.

We could definitely see one group,

and I'd wave to them to let them know that we had seen them

and we were coming to them.

At that point, I felt relief.

I raised my arm back to them.

As they approach, Debbie realises it's a man, woman, and child.

Then the man passed the child to me.

So he gave me her hand.

They pulled her aboard first.

John pulled Rhiannon up onto the back of the boat,

and then I climbed on afterwards.

I mean, he was like, "I'm so glad you're here."

Rhiannon and Tia were both shocked and suffering with mild hypothermia.

Debbie and John know they need to get the family back

to dry land quickly,

but their boat isn't designed to take so many people.

Obviously, with now five people in a two-person boat,

we're a lot lower in the water than we should be -

and the boat also became pretty uncontrollable at that point.

They're now all in danger of ending up in the water.

Being a racing boat, it's very, very tippy.

Any slight thing, it would quite happily just flick over.

So that was the main thing, is to keep the weight in the right place

and make sure that it didn't turn over

and they didn't end up back in the water.

As John and Debbie battle to keep their small dinghy afloat,

the rescue boat comes into view.

The crew spot the sunken speed boat...

..and then the struggling dinghy.

The occupants of the sailing dinghy were waving towards the lifeboat

to say that they've managed to retrieve the people from the water.

Crew member James calls out to them.

How many of you on there?

OK, we're going to tie you onto lifeboat and then sort that out, OK?

James gathers together thermal clothes for the casualties.

Coxswain Brian cautiously manoeuvres the rescue boat

alongside the unstable dinghy.

They came alongside and took the family.

That was quite a relief to see them, I have to say.

OK.

Phil, we're going to need your help, mate.

12-year-old Tia is hauled aboard first.

Both she and Rhiannon are showing signs of hypothermia.

All right. OK.

The lady was incredibly cold, and just the shock on her face was...

It was stark!

I couldn't stop shaking.

I was just feeling, you know, just cold.

Step inside, that's it.

When we got her on board the lifeboat,

we've got some bags to warm them up in as quickly as we could.

I didn't remember a great deal about it.

Apart from there was someone at the back of me

with their arms around me, making sure I was warm enough.

Fortunately, it's a quick run back to the lifeboat station.

Rescue base lifeboat,

please can you sort some warm clothing ASAP?

More volunteers are there to help

when the frightened family are brought to shore.

Let's go into my house as quickly as we can, please.

Lifeboatman James thinks they owe their survival

to dinghy sailors Debbie and John.

I mean, the fact that they spotted those people

saved those people's lives.

That boat wasn't designed to take five people -

but they managed to get those three casualties on board

and keep them safe until we arrived.

I mean, they really should be applauded for what they did.

It wasn't sort of until everything had calmed down

that I got quite upset.

I kept saying sorry to Jet, because his daughter was on board.

I know it's no-one's fault, what happened,

but it was still my boat. It was still my responsibility.

The boat didn't bother me. Boats, you know...

As long as we were all, you know, OK.

Later, the rescue crew go back to retrieve the speedboat.

Up until that experience,

I didn't realise just how important GAFIRS is.

They will certainly be receiving my support after that.

John and Debbie turned up

and I shook John's hand, gave Debbie a big hug.

What else could you say but thank you, you know?

And there's nothing else that can say -

and obviously they'll have my gratitude forever.

It could've been a lot different and it could've been a lot worse, yeah.

A combination of helpful boaters

and the rescue services working together there. Good work, boyo.

All our emergency services are pretty wonderful, aren't they?

And there are plenty of people with good reason to be grateful to them.

The Calf Hey Reservoir in Lancashire.

A mountain biker desperately dials 999 after his friend

has a horrific accident.

I heard it crack, and I felt the worst pain imaginable.

Mountain Rescue are on their way...

..but on the treacherous terrain,

getting a casualty with such a hazardous injury down safely

will require all their skill.

Andrew Morton lives with his wife, Janice,

in the small town of Waterfoot, Lancashire.

59, and a grandfather of two, he's now semiretired

and has more time to indulge his number one hobby, mountain biking.

I've probably been cycling 25 years.

I used to be a water skier.

Ended up with dodgy knees,

so, to improve my knees, I started cycling -

and then got the bug, and... We're cycling three or four times a week.

We all go biking.

All the family bike -

and we've got the countryside around here, as well.

Nick is one of Andrew's long-time cycling buddies.

I've been a good friend of Drew's for about 15 to 20 years.

We share the same interests.

Generally good friends, really.

It's November, a late Sunday afternoon

and the pair are visiting one of their favourite destinations -

the Calf Hey Reservoir.

We go along the top of the hill,

and then there's a steep descent.

It's got stones sticking up under the heather,

so you've got to be really careful and keep well back on your bike.

Andrew's well ahead, out of sight of Nick

as he approaches a steep section of the track.

Came down a dip, like a gully,

and up the other side of the gully and took off.

Andrew's lost control.

He's sent flying over his handlebars and high into the air.

Came down vertical on my head...

..and then I felt my head crash into my helmet,

and I heard a big crack.

Andrew's first instinct is to try and get to his feet.

Turned my neck - the worst pain imaginable,

and my legs went to jelly underneath me

and I collapsed on the floor.

Andrew fears he has a very serious injury.

I know I broke my neck, because I heard it crack.

I knew that if I moved, it could be very dangerous.

Desperate, Andrew shouts out.

Coming up behind him, pal Nick rushes over.

He was laying on the floor with his bike to one side.

I could tell he was in a lot of pain and it was quite serious.

Nick knows Andrew's injuries could be life-changing.

Trying to keep calm for his friend's sake, he dials 999.

This is his call.

A quarter of a mile from any road,

Nick realises it's impossible

for a regular ambulance crew to reach them.

An ambulance is already on its way

and the local voluntary Mountain Rescue team is alerted.

Andrew frantically checks the rest of himself over.

I could feel my fingers and wiggle my toes,

and I thought that's good, and that I can move my legs a bit -

but I knew that if I moved, it could be very dangerous.

He was getting quite agitated,

and I think when he got agitated, he was in a lot of pain.

Kevin Garvey is with the Mountain Rescue team, who are on their way.

Everything now depends on them getting there.

So we were called to get the casualty

down to the waiting ambulance.

They reach Andrew as the light's fading.

One of the team is a doctor who quickly assesses him.

The team doctor provided morphine,

to reduce his pain and make the carry more comfortable.

It was a real concern to us

that he'd actually done something quite serious to his neck.

To get Andrew safely to the ambulance,

the team carefully carry him for a quarter of a mile

down the steep, treacherous, slope.

We were very aware that one wrong move

could have caused him some severe paralysis or even ended his life.

The waiting ambulance rushes Andrew to Preston's Spinal Injuries Unit

where wife Janice is waiting anxiously.

They took us into where they scan, and then brought him out again,

and looked at the scan, and they said,

"We're sorry but you've broken your neck."

The bone at the top of Andrew's spine has broken into three pieces.

They said that it's too dangerous to operate.

"The only thing we can do is brace your neck,

"and put you a halo brace on."

Andrew has to wear this device for the next three months,

to keep his head and neck steady

while the broken bone knits itself back together.

The points screw right into your skull.

I had to tighten up the screws twice a week.

Which wasn't very nice, because obviously it hurt him.

It was hard work, but we managed.

Andrew's injury is now healed.

Although he will never completely regain full movement in his neck,

he's still fit enough to carry on

pedalling away with his friend, Nick.

Back on my bike now, and still doing three or four times a week.

Which is good, because you can't let these things stop you

doing what you love.

I'm a bit more careful now, it's quite safe most of the time -

but now and then, you can get caught out.

As I did.

Join us again for more amazing close calls.

See you next time.