Hero driver saves unconsciousness man’s life on busy M62 by using his car to slow down other vehicle

John Barlow, an electrical and electronic engineer and head Jiu Jitsu Coach from Manchester, was driving on the M62 near the Rothwell junction with his wife Kirsty and little boy Joey on Saturday afternoon to pick up a cat from Scunthorpe when he noticed a car driving very slowly in the middle lane.

He decided to undertake the car and whilst pulling alongside of the vehicle, he saw the driver slumped at the wheel.

John said: “I thought he was dead at the wheel, he had blue lips and blood coming out of his mouth.

“It might have seemed a bit nuts but you do daft things when you don’t have time to think.

“I matched his speed which I'd now guess was maybe 20 or 30 miles per hour.

“We pulled in front of him and used my car to stop his. We had a couple of bangs along the way but we got it to stop.”

John went on to say that he jumped out of his car and waved for traffic to stop so he could get in the passenger door.

But the doors were locked and he was unable to get into the vehicle.

John added: “Fortunately, a tradesman in a van had a hammer and we managed to get in the Audi.

“The gentleman was barely breathing from obstruction with his head slumped forward.

“We had a refresher first aid course at the gym recently and I frantically tried to remember to tilt his head slowly backwards to open his airways.

“A lovely lady who was a physiotherapist with far better medical training than myself and an off duty West Yorkshire Police officer took over.”

A doctor who was on the hard shoulder on the other side of the motorway also slowed down and shouted over if they needed assistance.

He brought a defibrillator from the nearest junction and battled through standstill traffic to bring it over until the ambulance came.

He said: “They worked on the gentleman and he started regaining some consciousness until the ambulance arrived.

“West Yorkshire Police called to let me know that although the gentleman had suffered a seizure he was now stable and able to go back home with his family.

“The police said what I did was heroic but I don't really think it was.

“Heroes are firemen, lifeboat crew and the like. They are the real heroes, not me.

“I only did what plenty of folks with half a conscience would have done.

“Just seeing all the other people working together to save someone's life is a brilliant thing, especially when teamwork works.

“Things like this certainly help keep people's faith that the majority of people are decent folks.”

John also said that his car is fine and only suffered a bent bracket under the number and some scratches that will buffer out.