Off-duty nurse saves life of 12YO after M1 crash

AN OFF-DUTY nurse has been praised for saving the life of a boy, 12, who was critically injured when an alleged stolen car full of youths crashed on the M1 on the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast police believe the car occupied by the group of juveniles “clipped the back of a truck” while travelling north on the Pacific Motorway at Gaven about 1.30am on

Tuesday.

Five youths aged between 12 and 14 were injured – most seriously, the 12-year-old boy, who suffered critical chest injuries and has been in an induced coma.

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) senior operations supervisor Adam Flory said paramedics arrived and found a “carload of children and teenage kids” and “an offduty nurse on scene from Robina

Hospital administering life saving CPR to one of the children”.

“As a result of that, that child was placed in an induced coma on scene by our High Acuity Response (Unit) paramedics and transported in a critical condition to Gold Coast University Hospital,” he said.

Mr Flory said the nurse’s efforts “would have been critical to the survival of that child in getting him to hospital in a condition where they could administer further care”.

“In situations like this morning it can be pivotal in saving someone’s life,” he said.

Mr Flory described the scene when emergency services arrived as “confronting and chaotic”.

“It was very traumatic, especially with children involved,” he said.

Earlier, it was reported emergency services were called to a location near the Smith St offramp after the dramatic crash.

QAS stated critical care and high acuity paramedics attended the scene on the M1 “following reports of a vehicle crashing into a wall”.

“Five patients were treated at the scene and all transported to Gold Coast University (Hospital),” the statement read.

The 59-year-old male truck driver was not injured.