Driver’s cardiac arrest at 70mph on Cambridgeshire dual carriageway

Stevie Chalmers was behind the wheel when he suddenly slumped to one side and became unresponsive

Howard Lloyd Regional content editor 10:45, 12 Feb 2026

Stevie Chalmers - pictured here with wife Elly - had a cardiac arrest behind the wheel

When Stevie Chalmers went into cardiac arrest while driving at 70mph along a dual carriageway in Cambridgeshire[1], his wife had only moments to respond. With Stevie unresponsive, Elly, who was in the passenger seat beside him, had to grab the steering wheel to guide the car away from the lorry in front and into the right-hand lane.

"The last thing I remember is chatting to Elly beside me in the passenger seat.

Then I 'went out." said Stevie. The couple had been on their way to meet friends for a weekend away.

"Stevie suddenly made a 'snoring' sound and then slumped against the car window and his hands fell off the steering wheel. It was like an out-of-body experience - and I suddenly realised I was screaming," recalled Elly.

"The only thing I could do was take off my seatbelt to try to stretch my foot over to the brake.

It was terrifying. But I managed to do it, get control of the vehicle and stop on a roundabout."

A cardiac arrest - the most serious life-threatening emergency - is where the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. Time is of the essence if an individual is to survive.

Elly and Stevie Chalmers

It took a remarkable effort from passing drivers on the A47 near the Worzals roundabout, near Wisbech, that day in March 2024, followed by a rapid air transfer to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge by the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) to save Stevie's life.

The driver of the lorry in front and a former police officer saw what was unfolding and pulled over.

They got Stevie out of the car and started to perform CPR. The driver of a works vehicle was carrying a defibrillator on board. He immediately stopped to help and brought the life-saving equipment with him.

The survival rate for a person who suffers a cardiac arrest outside of hospital is about eight per cent.

But if a defibrillator is used alongside effective CPR within the first three to five minutes, the chances of survival can increase to between 40 and 70 per cent.

"Stevie received five shocks from a defibrillator in total. Remarkably, he came round and asked where I was," said Elly. But Stevie was critically unwell at the roadside.

Passing by were a doctor and surgeon, who rushed to help Stevie, and a nearby ambulance service crew quickly arrived.

Dr James Price and critical care paramedic Gary Spitzer, from the East Anglian Air Ambulance's Anglia Two crew, based in Cambridge, were sent by helicopter, bringing advanced skills, equipment and medication to the scene.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance in action

Their helicopter landed in a nearby field and the pair gave Stevie a full assessment and administered blood-thinning medication in an attempt to unblock the vessels around the heart, in case this was the cause of his cardiac arrest. They determined that the Royal Papworth - a specialist heart and lung hospital - was the best place to take him, and were able to fly him there within minutes to give him the best chance of making a full recovery.

"I needed to get to Papworth Hospital quickly," said Stevie. "I remember somebody saying that whoever called the air ambulance saved my life. It was a 50-minute drive from the scene to Papworth.

The flight time in EAAA's helicopter was just 12 minutes.

"I was in hospital for 10 days; three of those were in intensive care and they didn't think I would make it. I was diagnosed with a hardening of the left ventricle of my heart, so I had a dual-chamber internal defibrillator fitted.

"Before my incident, I didn't know the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest. I am now acutely aware of what a cardiac arrest is."

While a cardiac arrest means the heart has stopped, a heart attack happens when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked, cutting off the blood supply to the heart which, without treatment, will begin to die through a lack of oxygen.

Heart attacks can lead to a cardiac arrest. EAAA's aftercare service also supported Stevie and Elly after the ordeal.

"It was an incredible service," Elly said. "I was watching Stevie unresponsive on the road for 22 minutes - that's a long time. EAAA made sure we were aware this support was available to both of us.

We met Jordan, one of the aftercare clinicians, at EAAA's Cambridge base when we visited."

The couple, from North Norfolk, encouraged anyone who can to support EAAA to help ot bring 24/7 urgent critical care to the scene of medical emergencies like Stevie's across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk[2]. As a charity, it is funded almost entirely by public donations.

Stevie said: "Anyone who donates any amount - big or small - to East Anglian Air Ambulance is a life-saver. We are supremely grateful to the people who helped at the scene and to the people who donate to EAAA.

We didn't know we needed them until that day, and we continue to be amazed and humbled by the kindness of strangers."

Visit www.eaaa.org.uk[3] for more information.

References

1. ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
2. ^ Suffolk (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
3. ^ www.eaaa.org.uk (www.eaaa.org.uk)