Helicopter ER to feature moment man was trapped in car on North York Moors

The moment a man became trapped in his car after a crash in the North York Moors will feature on an episode of Helicopter ER.
The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.
The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.

Graham Wilkinson, from Ingleby Barwick in Stockton-on-Tees, was on his way to Ravenswick Hall in Kirbymoorside for work when he moved out of the way of a vehicle and his car spun out of control, hitting a dry stone wall on July 26 last year.

-> Motor racing crowd crash drama at Oliver's Mount in Scarborough to feature on Helicopter ER showPassers-by who recognised him stopped to help, and a retired policeman who was in the area called the emergency services.

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Mr Wilkinson was trapped in his car, and fire and rescue teams along with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance were dispatched to free him and treat his injuries.

The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.
The aftermath of the accident in the North York Moors. Picture: YAA.

He said: “I knew I’d done something to my back quite quickly when I couldn’t get out of the car. I was really thankful that someone stopped, it was quite early in the morning and it could have been awhile until someone came along.”

-> Film based on Ripon-born Naomi Jacob novel Antonia in the works - and a Downton Abbey tip-off brought it to YorkshireMr Wilkinson was stabilised on the scene by the YAA crew and was subsequently flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where tests later revealed that he had an unstable vertebrae fracture and fractured wrist and elbows. He spent three weeks in hospital immobile.

“The Yorkshire Air Ambulance arrived on scene really quickly and it was a very smooth ride," said Mr Wilkinson.

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"The paramedics originally suspected a hemothorax and I’m sure that if I did have that, the quick transfer time would have saved my life."

While he still struggles with a weakened left leg, which he is undergoing physiotherapy for, Mr Wilkinson has made a recovery and was able to return to work.

The accident will feature in Monday’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

-> Selby mother who gave birth to twins on A19 near York to feature on Helicopter ERThe episode, which airs at 9pm on Really, which also features a serious accident at a well-known motorbike rally, a college student hit by a car and a landscaper who had a serious accident doing some work in his garden.

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Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television, which has won five Royal Television Society awards for its work on the series.

YAA serves five million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,500 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.