Police have praised the quick thinking of a mystery person who saved a motorcyclist from bleeding out following a serious accident north of Dunedin.
The 62-year-old man lost control of his motorcycle in wet conditions on State Highway 1 near Waikouaiti on Sunday afternoon, while passing a vehicle towing a boat trailer.
Southern district road policing manager acting Inspector Karl Hemmingsen, of Dunedin, said the motorcyclist received a serious leg injury when he clipped the trailer and went under it.
An unknown member of the public stopped to help the motorcyclist by using a jersey and a car-jack handle to create a tourniquet around the man’s leg to stop the bleeding, he said.
"That probably saved his life.
"His leg was in a pretty bad condition.
"He probably would have bled out. You lose a lot of blood, awfully quickly, with a leg injury like that."
Insp Hemmingsen said it was "outstanding" that a member of the public had "stepped up and saved this guy's life — particularly because it doesn't appear as though they're a nurse or a doctor".
"It's just a member of the public going: ‘Oh, I need to do something here’, and they’ve got a piece of clothing and made a tourniquet.
"Members of the public can often find themselves in these situations and we'd like to thank this fast-thinking person for saving this man’s life."
Insp Hemmingsen said the accident was "miles away" from an ambulance and the motorcyclist was very lucky someone was able to give the crucial first aid assistance.
He reminded drivers and motorcycle riders to be wary of road conditions after it rained.
"When it hasn't rained for a while, you can get all the contaminants on the road and it might just make the road slippery.
"So, it's something for people to be aware of.
"That will be a contributing factor in this incident," he said.
An update on the motorcyclist was not available yesterday.
