Ebbw Vale boy saves his mum’s life after she faints while driving

A 12-year-old boy has been praised for his heroic actions after steering his mother’s car to safety when she fainted behind the wheel on a major road.

Nicola Crump, from Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, was travelling on the A40 with her son Zac when she began to feel unwell and lost consciousness.

Zac, who was sitting in the passenger seat, managed to take hold of the steering wheel and guide the vehicle into the central reservation.

“All I remember is waking up on the other side of the road not knowing what happened,” said Nicola.

Nicola was on her way to Birmingham Christmas markets on Saturday, and said Zac had asked to join her at the last minute after her friend had to pull out of the trip due to illness.

“We got as far as Ross-on-Wye when I started to get really hot,” she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, adding she pulled over and put her hazard lights on.

“We were already parked in a really dangerous place as there was no hard shoulder.”

As she lost consciousness, her foot pressed on the accelerator with the car speed increasing to nearly 60mph (97 km/h) and continuing along the dual carriageway.

Zac said he tried waking her up but, when he realised he couldn’t, decided to take control of the wheel.

Using the grass verge to slow the car down, he brought it to a stop before switching off the engine and calling the emergency services.

“I was really scared but I knew I had to do something,” he said.

“When I was on the phone to 999, I saw her belly was moving so I knew she was breathing.”

Nicola added: “He [Zac] was just keeping me so calm. He was saying ‘it’s okay mum, don’t panic, you’re fine.'”

Police and paramedics arrived shortly afterwards and Nicola was checked over at the scene and later told she had very low blood pressure.

Neither Nicola nor Zac was injured in the incident and, while the car was damaged, it was not written off.

They waited with paramedics for family to collect them and stopped for a drink nearby, with Zac treated to a free drink from staff after they heard about his bravery.

Nicola said it was “really unusual” for her to faint and she would be having further tests before driving again.

Nicola said the police officers were amazed at how calm Zac was after listening to the 999 call.

She said they had invited Zac to their Worcester headquarters to present him with a certificate for his bravery.

She described her son as her “little hero”, saying his calm reaction and quick thinking prevented their ill-fated Christmas day out from ending in a more serious crash.