Elderly man dies after car goes into ditch

AN ELDERLY man has died after his car went into a ditch in Pevensey.

Keith Rickard, aged 76, of Riders Bolt, Bexhill, died at Eastbourne General Hospital on Saturday, May 8.

His death followed an incident on the A259 Pevensey Bay Road, Pevensey Bay, at 11.25am on Friday, May 7.

Mr Rickard’s car left the road and went into a ditch. It is alleged he became unwell while driving and lost control of his car.

The driver was trapped for 90 minutes, according to SIMCAS (South East Coast Immediate Care Scheme).

Gavin Turner, a member of SIMCAS, was the first medical responder at the scene.

An off-duty A&E nurse also saw the incident and went to help.

They both helped to stabilise the patient with an ambulance crew and firefighters.

It took the team one-and-a-half hours to rescue Mr Rickard from his car.

Mr Turner said “it was a very well-managed incident where seamless teamwork helped the patient get to hospital as quickly as possible”.

No other vehicles were involved and no one else was injured.

Published Date: 10 May 2010