A WOMAN knocked unconscious in a fall from her bicycle was lucky to be alive today after a passer-by found her buried in the snow.

The red rear light of Sarah Archdale’s bicycle was the only clue that she lay injured and unable to breathe.

Mrs Archdale, 25, of Tang Hall, was mistaken for a pile of snow by driver Colin Dodds, until he noticed the cycle light glowing shortly before 7am in Bramley Garth, Burnholme, yesterday.

“When I found her, she wasn’t breathing; she was getting covered by the snow,” said Mr Dodds, 61.

“If a car had come round the corner, it could have hit her and killed her. I pulled the bike away and I tapped her cheek but there was no response whatsoever. I flagged over a man in a van and he called the emergency services and they were telling us what to do.”

The van driver, John Pool, said he had seen Mrs Archdale riding only minutes before she was found.

“We were just in the right place at the right time,” said Mr Pool. He said Mrs Archdale had been unconscious for up to five minutes before they found her, and came round about seven minutes later.

The men were told to check she had not swallowed her tongue. When Mr Dodds moved her head, she began breathing again, eventually regaining consciousness.

“She let out a gasp and her eyes began moving,” he said.

Later, recovering at home with her husband, Mrs Archdale, a care worker in York, praised her two rescuers.

She said: “If they were not there, I was in so much snow that a car could have gone over me.

“I am lucky; I am not paralysed or anything – I have just missed out on 12 hours’ pay.

“I was on my bike and the front wheel went over, and I landed on my head.

“All I know if these guys came and apparently I was unconscious when they found me.

“They put an umbrella over me and called an ambulance.

“The paramedics said I just looked like a snowman. I have not broken anything. I’ve just hurt my neck.

“I must have been there a good 20 minutes,” she said.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “We received a 999 call shortly before 7am to an incident where a female was reported to be unconscious in the road after falling from her bike.

“An ambulance was dispatched immediately to the scene and the 999 call taker remained on the line asking questions to determine the condition of the patient whilst assistance was en route.

“Staff in our 999 communications centres are trained to deliver advice and instruction to callers on how to care for patients until the arrival of an ambulance which was the case on this occasion.

“The 999 call taker was able to reassure the caller and talk him through instructions on how he could provide help to the patient.

“An ambulance crew arrived at the scene less than ten minutes later and treated and stabilised the patient before transporting her to York Hospital.

“Overall, the caller coped well in what must have been a difficult situation and he should be praised for his actions.”


Useful links

Latest traffic and travel information
Up-to-date travel information for York, North and East Yorkshire, including the latest on the roads, and public transport.

School closures
Details of school closures in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding.

City of York Council's gritting information
Including details of which roads and footpaths are gritted, and the location of salt bins in York.

The Met Office Severe Weather Warnings
Details of severe weather warnings issued for the Yorkshire and Humberside area, plus advice on what to do during periods of snow and ice.

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