A man has been arrested following a crash which left a road worker with potentially life-changing injuries.
A car and a road worker collided on the A1 near Belford in Northumberland just after 11.15am on Tuesday.
The road worker, a 26-year-old man, was taken to hospital by air ambulance. He suffered serious and potentially life-changing injuries and remains in hospital.
Read more: Two people taken to hospital following three-vehicle crash near Kingston Park
A 68-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He has since been released under investigation and enquiries are ongoing.
An off-duty police officer and an an off-duty paramedic both sprung into action when they came across the collision.
Despite not being on duty, the rural PC from Northumbria’s Response Policing Team (RPT) called for backup, medical assistance and organising a cordon around the area.
She also began the process of collecting witness details and accounts of the collision, remaining on scene until her on-duty colleagues arrived.
The PC was assisted by an off-duty paramedic from North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), who offered medical assistance to the injured man. The emergency services arrived at the scene within minutes to take over.
Chief Inspector Phillip Mcconville, of Northumbria Police, said: "This was clearly a very serious incident and our thoughts are with the man’s family at this awful time.
"It was fortunate that two off-duty professionals were on the scene and assisting within seconds, and I would like to commend both for their outstanding dedication and service.
"Anyone who joins an organisation such as police or the ambulance service do so because they want to help people, and it’s very clear that passion remains as strong even when they are not at work.
"This is another example of how effective and established our partnerships are in this region. We will always do everything we can to work together to help keep people safe and respond to situations such as these.
"A massive thank you to everyone who played their part in the response to this incident. It is hugely appreciated."
Head of Operations in the North at NEAS Claire Jobling said: "On behalf of our two services and this patient, I’d like to thank both workers for stopping to assist in their own time.
"Having people support a patient whilst our resources are travelling to help is a huge support to us and our patients.
"The skills and experience of these two will have no doubt made the experience far less scary for those at the scene, whilst being a huge help to those crews arriving afterwards to give swift treatment and transport to hospital."
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