A 14-year-old was minutes from death after cracking his head in a car crash but was saved by the BMW which automatically dialled 999.
Bradley Duke, 14, at Sheffield Children’s Hospital following the crash on a rural road in Sheffield
Bradley Duke was in the backseat travelling to school with his brother Hayden, 11, when their mother slid on black ice and lost control of the car at 55mph while on a rural Sheffield road.
In the horrendous smash, Bradley suffered devastating skull and spine fractures which left him fighting for his life in the foot well of the car.
Mother Claire Duke, 40, was rendered unconscious as a result of the collision and woke up to the sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from the dashboard.
The female voice told her, ‘we know where you are and help is on its way’, but Ms Duke didn’t realise the crash had triggered a BMW safety feature.
While searching for her phone which was lots in the collision a road and air ambulance arrived at the scene on January 13 2017.
The remains of mother Claire Duke’s 2014 BMW 3 Series (left) after the vehicle slipped on black ice. Bradley was moments from death after fracturing his skull and was placed in an a coma for nine days (right)
‘I was in a state of complete panic, I had no idea what to do,’ Ms Duke said.
‘The seriousness of the situation still hadn’t kicked in because of the shock.’
Paramedics saved Bradley’s life with just seconds to spare and he was placed in an induced coma before flying to Sheffield Children’s Hospital for emergency brain surgery.
Mother Claire Duke, now 40, brother Hayden Duke, now 11, (standing) and Bradley Duke, now 17
He remained in coma for nine days and was placed on a life support machine causing the family to agonise over whether or not he would survive.
His mother later discovered emergency services were deployed to the crash scene by a safety feature in her 2014 BMW 3 Series which sends for help when the airbags are triggered.
The mother-of-three who also has an eight-week-old daughter, Sienna, says the technology ‘saved Bradley’s life’, after doctor’s revealed Bradley would have died if had he been treated just minutes later.
Claire recalls going into a state of ‘sheer panic’ and shouted ‘we’re going to crash’. Pictured with her two sons Hayden (left) and Bradley (right)
‘He would not be with us now if it weren’t for that safety feature in the car,’ she said.
‘If he had been lying there for just a few moments more he would have died.’
Ms Duke recalls how she tried to pump the brakes and put the handbrake on but nothing could prevent the car losing control.
Ms Duke said it wasn’t until she noticed a piece of Bradley’s skull missing and his flesh exposed that she realised the severity of his injuries
‘When I realised what was going to happen I felt sheer panic and shouted out to the kids ‘we’re going to crash,’ she said.
Ms Duke and her younger son only suffered minor injuries in the crash and Hayden who wasn’t aware of the safety feature, ran from the scene to get help.
A police report found Bradley suffered much more serious injuries because he removed his seat belt moments before the smash, which his mother believes he did out of panic.
‘I looked back and saw Bradley slumped in the backseat so went to check on him, I could tell he was hurt but I thought he had probably just bumped his head.’
She realised the severity of Bradley’s injuries when she noticed a piece of his skull was missing, exposing his flesh.
Seconds after, Bradley stopped breathing and lost consciousness which his mother recalls was the moment ‘fear really kicked in’.
Brother Hayden and Bradley were travelling in the backseat on the way to school when the accident happened. Bradley says if it wasn’t for the car’s technology then he wouldn’t be here today
Hayden wasn’t aware of the safety feature in the car and so ran from the scene to try and get help
At the hospital Ms Duke said: ‘A doctor spoke to us and said they couldn’t give us any guarantees, I just went into shock.
‘It was such a traumatic time, I couldn’t stop blaming myself and asking whether I should have made the car journey that I did,’ she added.
After nine days in hospital the family were overjoyed when Bradley finally woke up, although it was just the beginning of a long recovery process.
Bradley, weeks after leaving Sheffield Children’s Hospital. He has had to re-learn basic skills such as reading and writing following the brain injury
Bradley, now 17, spent a month in hospital and, after being discharged, he had to relearn many basic skills like reading and writing, which he had lost as a result of the head injury.
The 17-year-old said: ‘I don’t remember anything about the crash, I blacked out.
‘The first thing I remember was waking up in the hospital with wires everywhere.
He added: ‘I feel very lucky, if it wasn’t for the technology in the car and the doctors in the hospital, I wouldn’t be here today.
‘It’s amazing what the technology can do. Nobody knew the car had that feature.’
A BMW spokesman said when the airbags are set off in an accident, BMW will call the car via its onboard SIM card.
If it gets no reply from the passengers, emergency services are deployed to the crash scene immediately.
The spokesman added: ‘We are so delighted that Bradley and Claire are fit and well after their awful crash.’
Bradley has since taken part in a fundraising drive to raise over £500,000 for a helipad at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which is where he was flown to and treated after the crash.