On a mission to repay car crash lifesaving rescue

Peter Corbett suffered catastrophic injuries and nearly died when his car crashed during a banger racing event at Buxton Raceway.nnWhen the collision happened he was nine times track champion and known as “Mr Buxton”. Nowadays his nickname is “Mr Air Ambulance” as he has devoted all his spare time since the 2009 crash to raising funds for and awareness of the charity he credits with saving his life.nnThis month Peter retires from his job as a quarry site supervisor and is looking forward to devoting more time to being a volunteer for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA).nn“Like 90% of the country I used to think the air ambulance was a just a helicopter but, after being rescued by it, I now know the difference it makes to people’s lives – not just the patients but their families.nn“I believe the air ambulance should be called the fourth emergency service, not the other AA that helps motorists when their cars breakdown.” he says.nnPeter (59) had been banger racing as a hobby for 26 years when the collision happened. His car crashed with another at the cross over point of a figure of eight race, tipped on to its side and was hit on the roof by the other vehicle.nnHe was cut out of the car and a land ambulance attended the scene. He was assessed by paramedics who rated his condition at level 3 – the lowest possible – on the Glasgow Coma Scale which records the level of consciousness of a person after a brain injury.nnHe had broken 15 bones in his neck, shoulder, ribs and wrist; sustained two punctured lungs and had a ruptured aorta in his neck.nnWhen DLRAA arrived on the scene, the air ambulance doctor put Peter into an induced coma, inserted chest drains and re-inflated his lungs.nnHe was flown to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester where he underwent vascular surgery to repair his aorta and was kept in a coma for 10 days.nnPeter’s broken bones were left to mend naturally and he was off work for 14 months. He never raced again and was unable to continue doing the manual job he had before the accident.nn“The air ambulance saved my life. If I’d been taken to hospital by road I could have been killed if there was a sudden jolt that affected one of the fractures in my neck. Also I was losing a lot of blood and the local A&E didn’t have a blood bank,” he says.nnPeter’s family were – and still are- so grateful to the local air ambulance that a year after the accident his two daughters Emma and Rebecca organised a fun run at Buxton Raceway to raise money for the charity.nnAnd their efforts continued when Peter and a group of friends took part in a sponsored event travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in two Robin Reliant cars.nnPeter is a volunteer community speaker and uses his first-hand experience of being a patient to promote the lifesaving work of DLRAA. He is also responsible for 40 collection boxes in his area and takes part in other fundraising events.nnHis daughters have recently raised over £2,500 for the local air ambulance by taking part in a marathon and tandem parachute jump.nn Peter and wife Gill at a Houses of Parliament lunch for DLRAA volunteers