Cyclist finds woman who saved his life after desperate plea
The survivor of a terrifying road bike accident has found the “Angel of Mercy” who first spotted him lying unconscious in a ditch at the side of a busy highway where he had been for an hour.
Exactly one year ago, Trevor Simmons was cycling along the New England Highway in Tarro, a suburb of Newcastle in the NSW Hunter Region, where he was left to die after being struck from behind by a motorist.
If it weren’t for one woman, who he labelled his “Angel of Mercy”, he may have not made it to hospital where he required urgent medical care for a broken hip and serious injuries to his shoulder and elbow.
Having exhausted all other options, Mr Simmons took his search to Facebook on the anniversary of the accident in the hope of reconnecting with the woman to express his gratitude.
The 66-year-old told Yahoo News Australia he wanted to thank her for caring enough to stop, and waiting with him for the ambulance to come.
“I’d just like to understand why she stopped when hundreds of other cars went past without stopping,” Mr Simmons said.
“Was I doing something that attracted her to me? The highway is busy at that time of morning and I was there for an hour.”
Mr Simmons was 65 at the time of the accident and believed he was unconscious for about two hours after the crash.
In a photo taken by a responding ambulance officer of the scene before he was taken to hospital, the woman was shown looking down at his body on the grass as paramedics tended to him.
He was forced to use crutches for eight weeks while his hip healed, and required surgery to fix a subscapularis tendon that was pulled from his right shoulder and an injury that developed on his right elbow.
Fortunately, he avoided damage to his brain and spinal cord, which would likely have left him wheelchair-bound.
It wasn’t until about two weeks after the crash he was informed of the woman’s incredible act when talking to a truck driver who pulled over shortly after she did.
He figured the woman the truck driver referred to was the same as the one featured in the photo.
“I am hoping that this message may help me get in touch with her so I can thank her,” Mr Simmons wrote in his appeal.
“If you do happen to know her please ask her to send me a private message on Facebook so I can personally thank her.”
Other than a notable loss of strength, Mr Simmons has regained full use of his injured shoulder, hip and elbow, but he still hoped to solve his mystery before closing the tumultuous chapter of his life completely.
“She needs to know what a great job she did,” he said.
In a fresh update to his Facebook on Wednesday evening, Mr Simmons delivered the incredible news that his “Angel of Mercy” had seen his post and reached out to him.
“She is a medical student, when she stopped to help me she was on her way home from her shift at the Emergency Department of a local hospital - a perfect ‘Angel of Mercy’.”
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