A272 crash: Passersby rush to help victims

The crash, involving a van and a tanker lorry, closed the road between Cowfold and Buck Barn crossroads.

Drainage company owner Adam Anderson, 45, from Goring was following the tanker on his way to do some work at a local school when the crash happened.

He immediately stopped and rushed to help as the lorry and van collided.

Two other ‘young lads’ and a woman also stopped to help. He said the van driver had a badly injured arm.

Adam, who is trained in first aid, grabbed a bungee cord from his van. “I applied a tourniquet to his arm while on the phone to the emergency services,” he said.

“Although I’m trained in first aid, that panic hits you at first, you think ‘what do I do’ but I understood I needed to stop the bleeding.”

Soon after an emergency response doctor arrived on the scene followed by the air ambulance and the van driver was airlifted to hospital in Brighton.

A spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service said the lorry driver was not seriously hurt.

Meanwhile, Adam paid tribute to fellow drivers who had rushed to help before the emergency services arrived. “There were two lads and a woman and their first thought was for everyone’s safety.

“Everyone involved, including the emergency services, were just phenomenal. We were all working as a team.

”I want to express my thanks to the people who helped me. I would have fallen apart on my own.”

A West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said they were called to the crash soon after 9am this morning (Tuesday September22).

They had received reports of two people trapped in a van and a heavy goods vehicle.

Two fire crews from Worthing and Burgess Hill fire stations attended, along with ambulance crews and police.

See also Person airlifted to hospital after A272 crash