Scaffolder to rescue of cyclist
Jor'el McQueen had just bought a parking ticket when the sound of shattering glass invaded his eardrums.
As the 28-year-old scaffolder turned towards the "terrible" noise he saw a cyclist lying motionless on the bitumen.
The 70-year-old woman's bike and an SUV had collided on Kings Park Road about 9.50am yesterday.
Mr McQueen, acting on instinct, sprinted across the busy West Perth street while phoning an ambulance.
Afterwards, the Kiwi expat said in his haste he first dialled 111 - the New Zealand number for emergency services - before calling Australia's triple-0.
Tapping the basic first-aid skills he learnt during a stint in the mining industry, Mr McQueen assessed his patient.
He noticed blood pooling around the cyclist's head as another stranger arrived to help.
The pair checked the woman's pulse - she was unconscious but alive.
Mr McQueen and his fellow good Samaritan rolled the woman on to her side to clear her airway and continued to monitor her breathing until paramedics arrived.
"It was not the way I wanted to start my day but I'm glad I was here," Mr McQueen said.
"The driver of the SUV was distressed, screaming, crying. It was terrible."
Major crash squad officers said the men's quick thinking gave the cyclist a fighting chance of survival. She was in a critical condition in Royal Perth Hospital last night.
Police seized the 41-year-old SUV driver's mobile phone to check if she was distracted at the time of the collision.
The incident has sparked fresh calls from WA's peak cycling body, WestCycle, for immediate safe-passing laws.
The legislation to require motorists to give cyclists 1m clearance on roads with a 60km/h speed limit and 1.5m on faster roads, is being debated in the WA Upper House.
