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News'I never saw myself being in that situation... it was such a massive shock'The teenager had only received the bike just weeks before the 'devastating' road traffic collision left her in

an induced coma, fighting for her life.huddersfieldexaminerBookmarkShareCommentsNewsByLyra Auld17:32, 1 JUN 2025BookmarkKatie was placed into a coma, to protect her brain from further damage

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A Yorkshire teenager has said she will ‘never ride again’ after a crash left her in an induced coma with a broken pelvis.

Katie Flounders from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, got her first motorbike just weeks before the ride that nearly cost her her life. Katie had just left a dental appointment and was riding home

when she crashed with a car only eight miles from her house.

Katie says she will never ride again and she has 'no memory of the accident'. She said: “I never saw myself being in that situation. It was such a massive shock."

Flounders from Thirsk, was left fighting for her life after a crash which threw her four meters across the road

The impact threw her more than four metres across the road, where she struck her head and lost consciousness. Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Topcliffe-based crew were dispatched from five miles

away, reaching Katie within minutes. It was later found she had suffered a serious head injury, broken her pelvis on both sides, fractured her wrist and hud bruised her liver.

The greatest concern for paramedics at the time however, was the possibility of a traumatic brain injury, something that can quickly become life-threatening without urgent intervention.

Knowing the situation was severe, paramedics on the scene began preparing to treat her. Paramedic Stew explained the 'split-second' decision to place Katie in a coma. He said: “It

appeared Katie was suffering from impact brain apnoea, a condition where a severe blow to the head temporarily stops a person from breathing. This puts the patient at serious risk of

hypoxia, where the brain and body are deprived of vital oxygen.”

Cold and confused Katie became increasingly agitated, a classic sign of brain trauma. Doctors on board of the helicopter made the critical decision to perform a Rapid Sequence Induction

(RSI), placing Katie in a medically induced coma to protect her brain from further damage.

After being transferred to the nearest hospital, Katie spent nine days recovering, being brought out of the coma the day after she arrived. Although she has no memory of the accident, she

recalls the shock of waking up to learn the extent of her injuries. She has struggled with short-term memory loss and has deferred her college studies for a year to focus on recovery.

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Katie said: “I never saw myself being in that situation. It was such a massive shock. Of all my physical injuries, the memory loss has been the hardest part. If I’m told something, I’ll

forget it within a few hours. It’s really frustrating not even knowing if I was told something in the first place.

"I tried going back to college for a full day, but by half eleven I was texting my mum asking her to come and get me. It’s upsetting to push things back, but I know I’ll come back stronger

next year.”

The harrowing footage was captured by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s rapid response team, with the story taking centre stage in the premiere episode of the highly anticipated second series of

Yorkshire Air 999, airing Friday 30th May at 9 PM on Really and discovery+.

The episode also featured an 82-year-old farmer crushed by a half-tonne hay bale, a van driver trapped with serious leg injuries following a road traffic collision, and a young runner who

dislocated his knee. For more information about Yorkshire Air Ambulance and how you can support its lifesaving work, please visit www.yaa.org.uk.

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