Magnús Thór Óskarsson, an electrician, received an award from the Icelandic Red Cross yesterday as the First Aid Person of 2008 for providing emergency relief to a man who was crushed between two cars and saving his life.
The recognition was granted at a special ceremony during the annual 112 Day, organized by the 112 emergency hotline and its partners, Morgunbladid reports.
Hannes Ragnarsson had left the engine of his car running while it was parked outside Frumherji car inspection. “I was just going to turn the engine off, but I must have bumped into something,” he described.
Rangarsson was half inside the car when it jerked into gear and forcefully ran into another car on the parking lot. “I was thrown out and the car hit me. It was like being crushed by an avalanche, the impact was so intense. Then I don’t remember anything else until I was in the ambulance.”
“There were two of us on the scene and we were going to get Hannes from underneath the car when he stopped breathing,” Óskarsson described. “I then climbed into the car and managed to give him mouth-to-mouth from the driver’s seat until help came.”
Óskarsson is thought to have reacted absolutely correctly considering the circumstances and he thanks his reaction to having attended a course in first aid.
“My lungs collapsed and my hip was dislocated, but I have recovered just fine compared to how it looked,” Ragnarsson said. “I’m sure Magnús saved me from brain damage. Nothing can kill me since I survived this.”
112 employee Sigurdur Vidar Ottesen was also awarded for his work and 33 children across Iceland were granted a prize for their scores in a fire protection quiz.
