Steve’s story

A motorbike ride with friends left Steve Martin with life-changing injuries when he was involved in a road traffic collision in Torpoint.

Steve, from St Austell, had been in Plymouth for the day and was heading back along the road from the ferry when he went around a right corner, hit a stone in the road, and crashed head-on into a people carrier.

He was thrown over the top of the vehicle, landing in a ravine at the side of the road. He fractured his head in seven places and suffered 17 breaks in his leg, including an open fracture to his knee.

Due to the severity of Steve’s injuries, Cornwall Air Ambulance was tasked to the scene. The crew resuscitated him, administered advanced pain relief and stabilised his leg. He was then airlifted to Derriford Hospital, which is the major trauma centre for the region.

Steve underwent a 16-hour surgery and remained in intensive care for three weeks.

Two years after the incident Steve had to have his leg amputated because the circulation wasn’t getting to his foot. He now has a prosthetic leg fitted and 13 years on, leads a normal life and works a full-time job.

Steve with his prosthetic leg fitted

“If it wasn’t for the air ambulance getting me there in the speed and time they did, I would have been gone beside the road”, said Steve. “I can never repay them for saving my life. I can’t thank them enough.”

Steve has gone on to raise over £3,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance, through two Banger Rally events and a skydive for his 30th birthday. His mother-in-law also volunteers in the St Austell charity shop, as a way of giving back.

With no memory of the incident, Steve only knows what happened thanks to other people telling him. He says having watched similar motorbike crashes in the latest series of Cornwall Air 999 has helped him to piece together and process what happened to him that day.

Steve added: “I’ve lived in Cornwall all my life, I know how remote and rural it is and it can be tough to get to places, especially in summer. The air ambulance is the only thing that can save people’s lives and is needed day-in day-out. Words can’t explain how important the air ambulance is to Cornwall. The amount of people who would lose their lives if it wasn’t for Cornwall Air Ambulance isn’t worth thinking about. Without your training, expertise and abilities I wouldn’t be alive today.”

Steve doing the skydive in aid of Cornwall Air Ambulance for his 30th birthday