Mystery paramedic saves life of car crash boy, 12, by holding his shattered face together with her hands

Jake Tharme broke dozens of bones in his face and jaw as his head smashed through passenger window of mother's car when it collided with vehicle

12-year-old needed over 200 stitches and spent five days in hospital

'She saved our lives,' mother says



A 12-year-old boy who suffered horrific injuries in a car crash was saved by an off-duty paramedic who held his face together, which had split like a jigsaw.

Jake Tharme broke dozens of bones in his face and jaw after his head smashed through the passenger window of his mother’s car when it collided with a Vauxhall Astra.

An off-duty paramedic was walking past when she saw the crash and raced over to help.

Horrific: Jake, pictured, had to have over 200 stitches and spend five days in hospital while surgeons pieced his face back together



Jake Tharme, 12, who was left unconscious after a horrific car crash and had to have his face held together by an off-duty paramedic

After hauling Jake out of the wreckage she held the boy’s broken face together in her hands while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

Mother Sharon, 33, was driving with Jake, daughter Amelia, nine, and 20-month-old son Mason, when the crash happened in Meir Heath, Stoke-on-Trent, on October 28.

The force of the crash crushed Sharon’s blue Corsa and Jake’s face was so badly damaged Sharon was convinced he was dead.

Jake was rushed to University Hospital of North Staffordshire where he needed over 200 stitches and spent five days in hospital while surgeons painstakingly pieced his face back together.

Sharon, from Stafford said: 'After the crash, Amelia said, "mum is Jake alive", but when I turned to him and saw that he was unconscious, the first thing I thought was that he was dead.

'The next thing I knew, a woman was knocking on my window. She told me she was an off-duty paramedic and she needed me to calm down.

The damage to the blue Corsa after it collided with a Vauxhall Astra in Stoke-on-Trent last month

Mason, aged one, was also injured in the crash, and has since been throwing himself out of his cot



'I panicked, she was telling me things and I was shouting that I couldn’t do it, but she was firm with me.



'She said I needed to cut off Jake’s seat belt and clothes to see if he had any more injuries.



'I didn’t want to do it but she told me she couldn’t let go of Jake’s head.

'She stayed with us until the paramedics arrived and I am just so grateful because it was horrendous.



'She was absolutely brilliant with us. She saved our lives.'

The family are now trying to trace the paramedic in order to thank her in person for saving Jake’s life.

The schoolboy, who has a seven-inch scar running across his face, said: 'I just want to thank the paramedic so much for helping me. I am getting better.'



Sharon added: 'Everything is still quite raw. Amelia is scared of the dark and Mason keeps throwing himself out of his cot.



'Jake has gone back to school but he doesn’t mix with any of the other children. I just have to keep telling them they are lucky to be alive.'



The casualties in the other car - a woman in her 30s, a teenage girl and a 10-year-old girl - suffered minor injuries.

Staffordshire Police are investigating the cause of the crash.