Survivor recalls Air Ambulance rescue after car rolled 60m off road
A driver whose car crashed off the road and plunged deep into woodland is sharing his remarkable story of survival to highlight the lifesaving work of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.
Jerry Innesbeer was travelling from Lincoln to Louth to visit a friend when his journey took a sudden and catastrophic turn.
After deer bolted across the A157 west of Louth, he instinctively swerved and, in an instant, his car left the tarmac, struck a tree, rolled multiple times and disappeared from view more than 50 metres into dense woodland.
The wreckage was invisible from the road with Jerry’s car unrecognisable.
Jerry remembers only fragments. Yet somehow, despite severe injuries, he managed to escape the vehicle and begin crawling toward the sound of traffic.
“I didn’t realise it, but my foot had come adrift,” Jerry recalls.
Jerry said it took some time as he dragged himself toward help, over and across several ditches to reach the roadside. The attending air ambulance crew still can’t understand how he managed this in his condition.
Luckily, witnesses who saw the initial impact dialled 999. Their call triggered the launch of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, a decision that would ultimately save his life.
For Dr Mike Hughes, the air ambulance doctor responding that day, the incident remains etched in his memory.
“It was during my first few months with Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, and I remember looking down at the scene and thinking someone’s going to be really badly injured down there,” he said.
Reaching Jerry quickly was critical. Hidden from view and losing blood, he needed advanced medical intervention urgently. The crew delivered specialist treatment right there in the woodland before airlifting him to hospital.
Against overwhelming odds, Jerry survived.
The road to recovery was long and painful. Doctors warned he could lose his foot, and even if he kept it, walking again was uncertain. Supported by his wife, he endured multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation. His
determination never wavered and even completed the Lincoln 10k in aid of the air ambulance crew that saved his life.
Today, Jerry continues to rebuild his life, grateful for the bystanders who called for help and the air ambulance team whose rapid response made survival possible.
His story is one of three survivors who have now recall their traumatic events for a Youtube video as a powerful reminder of why the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance exists: to bring hospital-level care to people in their moment of greatest need, wherever that may be.