A teenager who is lucky to be alive after suffering life-threatening injuries in a hit-and-run incident in Tudhoe is expected to make a full recovery.
Corey Russell, 19, had been on a night out with his friends and was walking back to his home in Croxdale when he was involved in a collision with a car on 3 September 2023.
His mother, Claire Russell, 43, said: “He wasn’t meant to be going out because he had a fishing competition the next day, and normally he would be sorting out what he needs for it, but he got a phone call and was told he’d already been put through to the next round so he didn’t need to go.”
Corey has fished at Tunstall Reservoir since he was around four years old and won the Tuesday night boat league three years in a row.
Before he turned 18, he also fished for the Youth England Team.
Claire added: “He doesn’t go out that often, and his friend asked him to come to the football, so he went to watch Spennymoor Town FC and then went to the Brewers Arms to watch the Newcastle match. From that point onwards he doesn’t remember anything.
“The lady that saved his life heard a bang and thought it was two cars hitting each other. She went outside and heard Corey on the road and ran over to him, and a gentleman who also heard it went to get the defibrillator from the community centre and rang 999.”
Corey had suffered three fractures in his spine, a fractured sternum, a shattered and dislocated shoulder blade, a broken left arm, a severe laceration on his right arm, lacerations to his kidney, liver and spleen, damage to his stomach and colon and a broken pelvis and hip.
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Claire was home alone at the time, as the rest of the family were busy with prior commitments, and she received the dreaded knock on the door from the police at approximately 5.25am.
She said: “I looked out of the window and saw the police car and the officers heading straight to my door. When I answered I said “which one is it?” They said it was Corey and I asked where I needed to go and get him, but then they said he had life-threatening injuries.”
Durham Constabulary were first on scene and directly contacted the critical care team at the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and requested their assistance.
Due to the incident taking place before 8am, a paramedic and doctor from GNAAS travelled to the scene in a rapid response vehicle, as they only travel via helicopter during daylight hours.
Our charity initially launched a night-time service in the North East in 2015 covering Friday and Saturday nights, from 8pm to 8am, and have since expanded to cover every night of the week, which means we now operate 24/7 in the area.
While they were en route, the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) arrived on the scene and began assessing and treating Corey’s injuries.
GNAAS paramedic Ian Grey said: “We received an excellent extensive handover from paramedic Paul Renwick.
“Corey had an initial assessment with oxygen, IV access with TXA and a pelvic binder applied prior to our arrival.
“The NEAS crew had done a superb job treating Corey, but he needed interventions only we could provide.
“After our own assessment it was clear Corey’s condition was critical, therefore we immediately commenced with a blood transfusion and decided that we would have to anaesthetise Corey to put him in a medically induced coma to secure his airway and to protect his brain from further injury.”
Once Corey was stabilised, he was carried to NEAS’ road ambulance, and driven to Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), with GNAAS‘ critical care team accompanying him.
Corey underwent seven hours of surgery and spent a total of three weeks in hospital before returning home, which was just in time for a presentation night for a fishing competition.
Claire said: “From waking up, he was determined he was going to get there, and luckily we managed to get him to the presentation. During the night, all the guys who fish with him gave him a round of applause, and they’ve been really supportive.”
While Corey was in hospital, the family raised £550 for GNAAS and recently handed it over at the charity’s base, where they met Ian.
Ian said: “It’s one of those stories that really makes you think how lucky Corey was. If we weren’t operating as a 24/7 service, we wouldn’t have been there to treat Corey and help to save his life. Then who knows what the outcome would have been?”
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