FLASH GARDEN
Kevin drags himself from under toppled two-and-half ton dumper truck despite suffering a shattered leg
A LANDSCAPER who thought he would die when he was crushed by a two-and-a-halfton dump truck freed himself with superhuman strength.
Kevin McNab managed to drag himself out from under the truck despite agonising pain from a smashed leg and broken ribs.
The 42-year-old from Strathtay, Perthshire, said: “I was working on a steep banking when the truck started to go over.
“Normally they topple quite slowly, but my waterproofs got stuck on one of the handles and I couldn’t jump free.
“I saw my welly up at my thigh and I thought it had come off my foot but it was my leg – it had snapped all the way down my fibula.
“And my good leg was trapped so I had to use my broken one to get free.”
The severity of Kevin’s injuries meant he was only able to drag himself into a sitting position against the still-running vehicle on the shore of Loch Tay.
He said: “I knew my colleague who was working nearby couldn’t hear me shouting for help, so I knew I had to get myself out.
“He was breaking rocks at the other side of the property and couldn’t hear my shouts above the engine.
“But luckily I had the phone and the ambulance controller kept me on the line talking and reassuring me that help was on the way.
“My friend eventually realised something was wrong and came to find me and did what he could to make me comfortable.
“The pain across my chest and in my leg was horrendous and I prayed for help to come quickly. I really thought I was going to die under my own dumper truck.”
Kevin, who has two daughters – Millie, 10, and Annie, eight – added: “I thought about my kids and that gave me the strength to make a superhuman effort to pull myself free. “I think adrenaline took over.” Kevin was stretchered to the nearby helicopter and airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where he spent nearly two weeks undergoing operations. He had to have skin grafts and treatment for a badly smashed shin and ankle and several broken ribs.
And if it wasn’t for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, he doesn’t know what would have happened.
He said: “I was signed off work for four months and spent a lot of time unable to walk or on crutches but I know it could have been a lot worse.
“SCAA are an absolutely tremendous service. They got me out of a remote area and into hospital within 18 minutes. The same journey would have taken at least 90 minutes by road.
“The care, professionalism and speed they bring is second-tonone and I’m so glad they were there when things went horribly wrong for me.
“Scotland is lucky to have such a dedicated service and, although you never think you will need them, we should all be grateful they’re there.”