I really thought I was about to die, says survivor of A27 horror crash

Gary Sanders told how he thought his time was up when the rear tyre of his Peugeot 306 blew out. This caused the car to flip up in the air, roll over twice and land on its side on the A27 near Emsworth.

The doctor who treated the 21-year-old University of Chichester student said he could not believe anyone could walk away from such a serious accident unhurt.

He was taken to hospital by air ambulance for a thorough check-up and was given just four stitches for a cut to his arm.

"I felt the tyre burst and I didn't know what to do. I tried to brake but the car just spun out of control and went straight into the metal girder, flipped around then flipped over a couple of times.

"As soon as I realised the tyre had burst I just thought, 'That's it, I'm going to die'. It was a mixture of fear and just utter disbelief that it was happening to me," said Mr Sanders.

Dr Paul Rees, a volunteer doctor for Basics Hampshire, was on the scene within minutes.

He said: "When I arrived I saw that the patient was actually outside the car, lying on the ground next to it with paramedics working on him. I gave him a full assessment and established he had no obvious life-threatening injuries.

"The front of the car was pretty much destroyed. In nine out of ten of these cases, where there was so much damage, I would expect the patient to have very, very serious, if not life-threatening injuries. He is a very lucky man."

Mr Sanders, of Bedford Avenue in North Bersted, had been driving to Southampton on a shopping trip when the accident happened at 7.55am on Friday, August 8. It occurred close to the Emsworth Services site.

The force of the crash broke his seatbelt and he was thrown on to the back seat from where he was able to climb out of the door in spite of his car being reduced to a crumpled mess.

Although he was in shock and a bit dazed, he was fine and a passing doctor stayed with him until the paramedics arrived.

Mr Sanders said: "I'm really grateful to everyone who helped me that day, especially the people who stopped just after it happened.

"I rang my parents and girlfriend at the side of the road to say that I'd had a little accident but that I was all right. I think they were glad to have me home in one piece."

He said it wouldn't stop him getting behind the wheel again.

"I won't be nervous. It was just a freak accident no one could have done anything about."

Both lanes of the A27 were closed to allow the air ambulance to land and allow emergency services to treat Mr Sanders.

Long tailbacks built up in both directions.

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