An off-duty custody paramedic has saved the life of a cyclist in cardiac arrest in Trowbridge this morning, following a serious road traffic collision near the fire station.
Travelling behind the incident, the paramedic who was on his way to work at the time, saw the cyclist hit the ground. Stopping at the scene, he administered a precordial thump and began CPR.
After approximately one minute of CPR, his heart was beating again. The first rapid response ambulance car arrived at the scene a couple of minutes later.
A361 Hilperton Road was closed in both directions until around 11am, while collision investigators from the Tri-force Specialist Operations Collaboration worked at the scene.
The cyclist, a 48-year-old local man, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol by land ambulance.
A police spokesperson said: “Two cyclists were travelling together out of Trowbridge, when, for reasons yet to be established, a white Ford Transit van made contact with one of the cyclists.
“Any witnesses, including anyone who may have dash cam footage of the incident, should contact PC George Rabczak or PC Rich Hatch of the Triforce Roads Policing Unit on 101, quoting log number 19.”