Out of the frying pan, into the fire: Critically ill man relives the horrific moment the ambulance he was being taken to hospital in was flipped onto its roof in shocking accident
- Gerald Stokes was in an ambulance due to major internal bleeding from an ulcer
- But the 75-year-old was knocked unconscious after the ambulance flipped over
- A four-wheel-drive had accidentally smashed into the ambulance on the street
- The father-of-two woke up with a neck-brace and couldn’t recall the crash
A critically ill 75-year-old man who was being rushed to hospital says he’s lucky to be alive after the ambulance he was in flipped onto its roof in a shocking accident.
Gerald Stokes was being taken to hospital with major internal bleeding from an ulcer when the vehicle collided with a four-wheel-drive on the intersection of Ennis and Council Avenues in Rockingham in Perth’s south at about 4pm on Wednesday.
The father-of-two woke up with a neck brace on and surrounded by firemen as he lay on the ground after being knocked unconscious in the crash.
Gerald Stokes was being rushed to hospital in a critical condition in an ambulance (pictured) that flipped onto its roof after a crash
‘The part of the crash I do not remember’ he told 9News.
‘I’m still here … I’m still alive. I feel lucky … not to fault the ambulance … but I feel lucky to be here in the first place.
‘The last vehicle you’d think you be in out in an accident would be an ambulance.’
Mr Stokes was left with cuts to his ear and arm from the crash and remains in Fiona Stanley Hospital in a stable condition.
Paramedics had to tell him he had been in a crash when he regained consciousness.
The driver of the four-wheel-drive said he had only seen the ambulance at the last minute. He escaped uninjured from the accident.
A doctor, nurse and two paramedics were also in the ambulance during the crash.
Mr Stokes, two paramedics, a doctor and a nurse were inside the ambulance (pictured) wen it collided with a four-wheel drive at an intersection
One paramedic suffered a minor head and collarbone injury and stayed in hospital overnight, while the other occupants were fine.
Mr Stokes is warning drivers to be more alert and to slow down when they see an ambulance on the road.
The circumstances of the crash are still being investigated by police, who say it is too early to tell if any charges should be laid.
Mr Stokes (pictured), 75, says he is ‘lucky to be alive’ after the car accident