Woman given 'second chance at life' after crash

A woman who survived a serious motorway crash said she would not have survived without the air ambulance.

Leanne Reid was on the M5 when she was hit by a car travelling at 70mph on Christmas Day 2020.

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) airlifted her to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where she was placed in an induced coma for six days while undergoing multiple surgeries.

"My growing strength and the achievements I have made since then, cause me to reflect regularly on how things could have been so different, without the quick and concise intervention of all the emergency services that day," Ms Reid said.

She said she was treated for multiple rib fractures, lacerations to her liver and spleen and a blood clot in her lung, and received a metal implant in her lower left leg.

"Despite the seriousness of my injuries and the initial prognosis, I was only in hospital for a total of 21 days and made a miraculous recovery," Ms Reid said.

"Four years have nearly passed and I have returned to my life as an active mother of two growing boys, as well as successfully conceiving and carrying my daughter Niamh to full term, despite fears that this may never be possible.

"I am forever grateful to have been given a second chance at life."

Ms Reid shared her story as the DSAA celebrated its 25th anniversary last week.

In the early years, DSAA only operated five days a week with a small team of pilots and paramedics.

The aircraft was a Bolkow 105 helicopter with limited space and resembled the skills and equipment of a road ambulance and its crew.

In 2025 and over 29,000 missions later, DSAA's critical care team now bring the hospital to the patient 19 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Charles Hacket, CEO of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance said: "In 2016, we were tasked about 800 times, last year it was nearly 3,000.

"This continuous, step-by-step growth in care, in such a short period of time, has been nothing short of incredible."

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