A motorcyclist’s search for the ‘guardian angel’ who saved his life after he crashed his motorbike badly has ended after a remarkable four-year search

A LYMINGTON man’s search for the ‘guardian angel’ who saved his life after he crashed his motorbike and severed an artery in his arm has successfully ended after four years.

Charlie Carnegie (24) feared he was bleeding to death after the accident which occurred as he approached the Chewton Bunny bridge on Christchurch Road in New Milton late one night in 2019.

A woman who had just finished a nightshift stopped to help, but Charlie did not get chance to ask her for her name to say thank you.

He finally tracked her down through a social media appeal and the pair recently met for a coffee.

He said: “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here now. She totally saved my life – and the thing is, how do you ever thank someone for that?”

Recalling the incident he said: “I had first aid training for work and I realised by the colour of the blood I was losing from my right arm that it was arterial.

“My biking jacket was filling up with blood and I really thought ‘this is it’.”

He added: “I knew I didn’t have a chance unless the bleeding was stopped quickly – but I didn’t think an ambulance would get there in time.”

Miraculously, travelling along the same road in the opposite direction towards her home in Barton at almost the exact time Charlie crashed was Jo Nemes, a cardiac physiologist who had just finished her shift at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

She said: “I came round a corner and saw Charlie sitting up by the railings of the bridge and the motorbike in the middle of the road. He had friends with him, but they did not know what to do.

“He had broken his right arm badly and it had severed the artery. I immediately put pressure on the top of his arm, above the break to stop the bleeding.

“I only had bandages in the car which someone got, but was finding it difficult to keep them tight enough.

“Then thankfully, I found a bungee cord which I could tighten really hard to stop the blood loss.”

Jo admits she was struggling to keep the pressure on saying: “It takes quite a lot of strength to do it for a long time. But luckily Charlie’s mum turned up and kept him calm while a lovely GP who had been on her way home stopped and helped me.

“Then the paramedics turned up and I handed over without getting any of Charlie’s details. I have often wondered how he got on.”

Charlie was rushed to Southampton General Hospital, where he had emergency surgery.

He has had multiple operations since and still wears a brace on his arm as he has lost the use of one of the muscles.

Since the accident Charlie has been seeking Jo wanting to thank her for saving his life.

He said: “I went to all the GP surgeries in New Milton and hospitals asking if they knew of her, although I didn’t even have her name.

“I thought I’d never find her, but then I put it on social media and suddenly received this message saying ‘Hi-I think this is me’.”

Jo added: “The strangest thing was that I saw the appeal on the 27th of June – the anniversary of the accident.”

The two agreed to meet last Saturday at a coffee shop in New Milton.

Charlie said it had been “really emotional” chatting to Jo and added: “It is just fantastic to find her after so long.

“It is incredible that she was on that road at that time, otherwise I would not be here.”

Jo added it had been “wonderful” to meet with Charlie and hear about his recovery.

She added: “I hope anyone reading this takes a first aid course. You never know when you might come across someone needing help; I never imagined I would that night.”