Prince William's air ambulance patient is reunited with him
It’s been lovely to thank William’: Car crash survivor whose life was saved by air ambulance crew piloted by the Prince of Wales reunites with the royal at Windsor Castle
- Jack Beeton was involved in a car accident with a lorry in 2015
- READ MORE: Prince William ‘delighted’ that Princess of Wales takes spotlight
A man who survived a horror head-on crash and was treated by an air ambulance has met the Prince of Wales, who was the pilot that day, to thank him after eight years.
Jack Beeton was sitting in the front of a van which was being driven by his uncle, collided head-on with a lorry when the driver wasn’t paying attention, in 2015.
Tragically, his uncle died on impact, but due to the positioning of Jack’s legs, he miraculously survived.
In a video posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Twitter account, Jack speaks from Windsor Castle, where he and the East Anglian Air Ambulance team that saved him were invited for a reunion so he could thank William, 41.
He explains he had already thanked the other team members for their work to rescue him from the wreckage and fly him to hospital that day. However, he never got a chance to thank the Prince of Wales.
Jack Beeton was involved in a fatal car accident which killed his uncle in 2015 and was saved by the East Anglian Air Ambulance team in a chopper piloted by Prince William
‘He wasn’t there on shift,’ Jack explained, adding that his girlfriend had written to Kensington Palace to tell them her partner had made a full recovery and he had always wanted to thank the Prince.
Recalling the fatal incident, Jack said: ‘From what I’ve been told and all the photos, I’m a very lucky young man.
‘Me and my uncle were on the way home form work and a lorry driver fell asleep and hit us head on.’
After the crash, which his uncle did not survive, Jack explained he was ‘saved’ by the air ambulance team who rescued him.
Dr Sarah Hazleman, who was part of the rescue team, said Jack’s case is one that will always stay with her.
After Jack’s girlfriend wrote to Kensington Palace, the Prince of Wales invited Jack to Windsor Castle for a reunion
Prince William pictured with his crewmates during his time working for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service
Meanwhile Jemma Varela, a paramedic, said Jack was one of the most unwell patients she had ever treated to have made a full recovery.
‘He’s really happy, he’s got a lovely family here,’ she said.
She added that, when the team started working with Prince William, she was ‘a little bit anxious.
‘I didn’t really know what to expect,’ she added. ‘But he immediately was just absolutely one of the team.’
Jack said: ‘It’s been lovely to see William, to be able to shake his hand and thank him for what he’d done for me that day.’
Prince William worked as a pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance for 18 months between 2015 and 2017, before stepping down to take on more Royal roles on behalf of the Queen.
Jack said it was ‘lovely’ to have the chance to meet Prince William and thank him for being part of the team who saved his life
He also became the patron of the London Air Ambulance Charity, which was established in 1989, and provides rapid emergency care in the capital.
As patron, William is set to champion the important work carried out by the group across the capital.
A statement from Kensington Palace, the Prince’s official residence, once said: ‘His Royal Highness has seen first-hand the impact these first responders have upon the lives of patients with critical injuries.
In 2019, the father-of-three was patron of London Air Ambulance’s 30th anniversary campaign for the entire year.
In January 2019, he visited the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, where he met with clinicians, paramedics, pilots and crew members and piloted the helicopter the London Air Ambulance kept there on stand-by.
In November of the same year, he attended the charity’s gala and was hailed ‘one of their own’ by the staff in attendance.
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