Witness describes horrifying cycle path crash (Bristol Post)

(Apparently wearing a helmet can protect you from cutting arteries in your leg ​)

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/witness-describes-horrifying-cycle-path-1545919

An eyewitness has said he feared a woman would die after a horrifying crash on the Bristol to Bath cycle path which left a woman bleeding heavily from a severed artery.

The crash happened on Sunday, May 6 while the path was packed with cyclists enjoying the bank holiday sunshine.

Slawek Jakobowski, 38, from Barton Hill, was cycling on the Clay Bottom section of the path in Clay Hill shortly after 3pm. He said he was about 100 metres behind a woman in her early 20s when she came off her bicycle.

“I didn’t see how it happened. Suddenly I saw people stopping and I saw the lady on the ground,” Mr Jakobowski recalled.

“There was a lot of traffic because of the beautiful weather, hundreds of people on bicycles. I thought at first she had hit someone but she fell off. Someone asked her how it happened but I think she was in shock, she just said ‘I don’t know’.”

Mr Jakobowski stopped to see if he could help, the woman was obviously seriously hurt.
“She wasn’t wearing a helmet,” he explained.

“Her head was cut very very badly on the left side, there was a lot of blood. She was screaming, ‘oh I’m bleeding’. We thought it was just her head at first.

“She had both hands on her leg – it was red, I thought from her head, but when she took her hands away the blood was gushing like a fountain.

“I was in shock, I didn’t expect that. I saw it was from an artery – I was afraid she might die.”
By this point five people including Mr Jakobowski had stopped to help, fortunately one of them was had medical training.

“One of the guys was a medic, he said he worked in a hospital.

“She was really scared because she knew she was bleeding very much – he calmed her down, saying, ‘don’t worry, I’ll help you’.

Several onlookers were in shock at the extent of the woman’s injuries but the man with medical training took control of the situation, trying to stop the bleeding while an ambulance was called.
South Western Ambulance Service said it received a call at 3.13pm to a patient with a head and leg injury.

“We attended with one ambulance and the patient was taken to Southmead Hospital for treatment.” a spokesman said.

Mr Jakobowski said he shared the story as a reminder to exercise caution on the Bristol and Bath cycle path.

“Ride carefully and watch out for other people. Look out for each other and go slowly,” he said.

“And please, wear a helmet.”