Man crushed under coach thanks life-saving medics

A jogger who came close to death after an e-bike rider knocked him into the path of a coach in central London has thanked the paramedics who saved his life.

Father-of-three Victor Arotsky, from Hendon, north London, was jogging near the Houses of Parliament in June last year when he was crushed under the vehicle and went into cardiac arrest.

He sustained life-changing injuries including the loss of sight in one eye.

The 53-year-old said: "If I lived 1,000 more years there still would not be enough time for me to express the gratitude I have to everyone that helped rescue me that day."

Police officers who were nearby performed CPR, and then London Ambulance and Air Ambulance crews cleared his airways, inserted a breathing tube and took him to hospital.

After the crash, Arotsky spent four weeks in a coma and then six weeks in a high dependency ward, followed by a further four weeks in a rehabilitation unit.

Speaking about the accident, he said: "Everything has changed, and nothing has."

At a recent meeting with paramedics Scott Lummes, Charlotte Miller and Caitlin Gray, Arotsky said: "I hope you all realise how amazing you are and the vital service you provide.

"If it weren't for you, my family would be without a father and husband."

Making a joke with the team, he also apologised to them for the "massive mess I caused that day".

He is now blind in one eye and is partially sighted in the other, and has also lost hearing in one ear.

Despite this, he returned to work, and now regularly runs six miles (10km) three or four times a week.

He has even jokingly apologised to his colleagues "for taking six months to return to the office from my lunchtime run".

Paramedic Caitlin Gray said: "It was a team effort rescuing Victor, and because of the fast action of the paramedics, police officers and other first responders at the scene, he survived against the odds.

"It has been brilliant to meet him again and see how well he is doing. His positivity and sense of humour after such an awful accident is inspirational."

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