A doctor who was one of the first people on the scene of a lorry crash on the Second Severn Crossing had to carry out CPR on the driver after he went into cardiac arrest.
Consultant surgeon Charlie Chan was on his way from Cheltenham to a meeting at a speciality cancer centre in Newport when saw the traffic in front of him come to a standstill just off the bridge.
A lorry had crashed through the central barrier and over the side of the bridge just after 10.30am on Wednesday.
Mr Chan said:"I had a meeting in Newport at 11am and was coming over the bridge around 10.40am when I could see some of the cars in front slowing down and putting on their hazard lights.
"I then saw a lot of debris on the road and could see that some of the central reservation and the left hand side of the barrier and the bridge was missing. About 150 yards of barrier had gone. It was obvious there had been a serious accident, but I couldn't see that any vehicles had been involved.
"Then I saw some people on the hard shoulder looking over the side of the bridge."
The doctor parked his car and got out to see what they were looking at.
"I looked over and could see that the lorry and gone down a slope on the side of the bridge. It was difficult terrain to get over, but I got down to the cab and there were two off duty firefighters already there. The driver was unconscious but he still had a pulse and was breathing, but it was difficult because the lorry cab was on a tilt."
The driver went into cardiac arrest and Doctor Chan had to carry out CPR at the scene.
"Then the emergency services and the air ambulance arrived at the scene. We were able to get the driver out and carry out CPR at the scene and he was airlifted to hospital," he said.
"My thought are with his family in Romania at this difficult time. I really hope that he makes a good recovery."
The bridge is closed in both directions, and is likely to remain so for the rest of the day as police and structural engineers work at the scene.
Chief inspector Martyn Smith said: “Currently, the bridge is closed east and westbound while engineers assess the damage to the barriers and carry out emergency repair works.
"We anticipate the bridge will be closed by the Highways Agency for the remainder of the day. Highways England have confirmed that the westbound carriageway is expected to remain closed between Junction 21 and Junction 23 until at least 6am tomorrow morning. We are advising motorists to make alternative routes today."
There are long tailbacks on the M4 on the approach to the bridge and on the M48 Severn Bridge as motorists seek out an alternative route.
