‘My husband had cardiac arrest while we were driving at 70mph on dual carriageway’
Stevie Chalmers went into cardiac arrest while driving at 70mph, leaving wife Elly in the passenger seat with only seconds to act
11:08, 12 Feb 2026
View 3 ImagesStevie Chalmers - pictured here with wife Elly - had a cardiac arrest behind the wheel
When Stevie Chalmers suffered a cardiac arrest[1] whilst driving at 70mph along a dual carriageway in Cambridgeshire, his wife had mere moments to react. With Stevie unresponsive, Elly, who was in the passenger seat next to him, had to seize the steering wheel to steer the car away from the lorry ahead and into the right-hand lane.
"The last thing I remember[2] is chatting to Elly beside me in the passenger seat. Then I 'went out'," said Stevie.
The pair had been en route to meet friends for a weekend getaway when the drama unfolded[3].
"Stevie suddenly made a 'snoring[4]' 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," Elly recounted.
"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."
View 3 ImagesStevie and Elly Chalmers
A cardiac arrest - the most severe life-threatening emergency - occurs when the heart abruptly stops pumping blood around the body. Time is absolutely crucial if a person is to survive. It required an extraordinary effort from passing motorists on the A47 near the Worzals roundabout, near Wisbech, that day in March 2024, followed by a swift air transfer to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge by the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) to save Stevie's life.
The lorry driver ahead and a former police officer witnessed the unfolding events and pulled over.
They extracted Stevie from the car and began performing CPR.
A works vehicle driver, who had a defibrillator on board, promptly stopped to assist, bringing the life-saving device with him.
The survival rate for an individual experiencing a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is roughly eight per cent. However, if a defibrillator is utilised alongside effective CPR within the initial three to five minutes, survival odds can surge 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," Elly recounted.
But Stevie was critically ill at the roadside.
A doctor and surgeon passing by rushed to aid Stevie, and a nearby ambulance service crew swiftly arrived. Dr James Price and critical care paramedic Gary Spitzer, from the East Anglian Air Ambulance's Anglia Two crew, based in Cambridge, were dispatched by helicopter, bringing advanced skills, equipment and medication to the scene.
Their helicopter touched down in a neighbouring field and the duo carried out a thorough assessment of Stevie, administering blood-thinning medication in a bid to clear the vessels surrounding the heart, should this have triggered his cardiac arrest. They concluded that the Royal Papworth - a specialist heart and lung hospital - was the most suitable destination, and managed to fly him there within minutes to maximise his chances of a complete 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."
View 3 ImagesThe East Anglian Air Ambulance in action
While a cardiac arrest means the heart has stopped beating, a heart attack occurs when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked, severing the blood supply to the heart which, left untreated, will start to die from oxygen deprivation. Heart attacks can trigger a cardiac arrest.
EAAA's aftercare service also provided support to Stevie and Elly following the traumatic experience. "It was an incredible service," Elly expressed.
"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 pair, hailing from North Norfolk, urged anyone who can to back EAAA in its mission to deliver round-the-clock urgent critical care to medical emergencies like Stevie's across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. As a charity, it relies almost entirely on public generosity.
Stevie stated: "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."
Article continues belowFor more information, visit www.eaaa.org.uk[7]
References
- ^ cardiac arrest (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ last thing I remember (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ drama unfolded (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ snoring (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ 'I went for a health MOT - what doctors found shocked and horrified me' (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ NHS GP Dr Amir Khan issues warning over foot symptom - 'always get that checked' (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ www.eaaa.org.uk (www.eaaa.org.uk)