When a car or motorbike accident occurs, the first to arrive on the scene are typically the paramedics, fire and rescue services and the police, reports Mossel Bay Advertiser.

However, during one motorbike accident at the entrance to Pinnacle Point during the recent school holidays, the first person on the scene was the 17-year-old Hayley Hammond, a Grade 11 learner of Curro Mossel Bay and a first aider.

Hayley had witnessed the accident as her family was entering Pinnacle Point in their car.

Dawid Human (65) was crossing the intersection at the Pinnacle Point entrance on his motorbike when he was struck by a vehicle.

Without hesitation, Hayley jumped out of the car and began using her first aid training to help the victim. 

“I decided to help because I saw this awful thing happen in front of me, and I thought about how scary and how painful it must be for Dawid. I thought if I could help in any way, even if it is just to make it less scary for him, so that he knows he is not alone, I wanted to do that,” she says.

Hayley’s mother, Samantha, told Mossel Bay Advertiser she could not believe how fast her daughter had left the car to assist on the scene. “The whole thing was like witnessing a movie in front of us,” she says.

This was Hayley’s first time assisting at a real emergency since receiving her first first aid training in a course offered by Point High School in 2023. 

When she approached Dawid, she remembered her training and instructed him not to remove his helmet, as the extent of his injuries was not completely known at that stage.

However, Dawid took off his helmet, and instinctively, Hayley grabbed his head (which was covered in blood) in order to avoid placing any strain on his neck.

She said in that moment, she was not scared or anxious.

“I stayed calm, and I think that’s also a big reason why everyone around me stayed calm and followed my instructions not to move him,”Hayley adds.

“One thing I’ll always remember is how he looked at me while I was comforting him. He kept thanking me and called me an angel.”

Hayley’s plans for the future include becoming either a trauma nurse, paramedic or travel nurse, as well as completing additional emergency care courses.

She has already begun working towards these goals by upgrading her first aid qualification and completing her advanced Level 3 First Aid Certificate, and she recently achieved 91% in her online first aid examination.

Dawid is still in hospital, undergoing medical treatment for the injuries he sustained, including skin grafts and a knee replacement.

He will soon be transferred to the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town for additional care.

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