Meet teenager airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary after suffering serious brain injury in motocross crash

15-year-old Tyler Atkinson was out riding with his dad at a local motocross park in Whitley, when he lost control of his bike. Tyler, who has been riding for three years and knew the track well, skidded and crashed at speed, landing heavily on his head.

Initially, he managed to stand up and walk away from the track, seeming dazed but otherwise uninjured. But within moments, his condition rapidly deteriorated. Tyler collapsed and began fitting, prompting his concerned dad to immediately call 999.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Nostell-based Critical Care Team, comprised of Dr Tim Moll and Paramedic Tammy Williams, were dispatched and arrived on scene in just five minutes. En-route, the team discussed the possibility of a serious head injury and began preparing for which advanced medical interventions could be required.

Dr Tim recalled: “When you have a brain injury, patients can show certain characteristic postures. When we saw Tyler, his arms were extended in a way that indicated potential severe brain damage, and I was really concerned.

“There’s a type of head injury where someone can seem okay at first, but inside there’s bleeding or swelling putting pressure on the brain and if it’s not treated quickly, it can become fatal. That’s what we suspected had happened to Tyler.”

With time critical, the crew began preparing for a Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), a procedure where the patient is anaesthetised and intubated so the crew can take control of their breathing. This is especially important in cases of traumatic brain injury, where managing oxygen and carbon dioxide levels can help prevent further brain damage.

With Tyler stabilised and the RSI successfully performed, the team transferred him to the helicopter for the urgent flight to Leeds General Infirmary, which took just 10 minutes, saving valuable time compared to the 40-minute journey by road.

On arrival, the crew handed Tyler over directly to the waiting trauma team. He was taken straight into emergency surgery, where doctors discovered a bleed on his brain. Tyler was placed on life support for three days and spent nearly two weeks in hospital as he began the long road to recovery.

Speaking about the incident, Tyler said: “I don’t remember anything from the day it happened, I just woke up in hospital a few days later and was told I'd had surgery on my brain and that I’d been on life support for a few days. It was a shock to hear how serious it was.

“For a while, I couldn’t go anywhere without my mum and dad in case I had a seizure, which was tough. But now I’m finally back at school and seeing my friends again, and that’s what I was most excited for. I know how lucky I am.

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“If the Air Ambulance crew hadn’t got to me so quickly and flown me to hospital, things could have been very different. I’m so grateful to them for everything they did.”

Alongside Tyler’s story, this week’s episode also features a man who fell from a ladder while clearing moss from a neighbour’s roof, a walker who suffered a serious fall at Malham Cove, and a 39-year-old woman experiencing life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

Yorkshire Air 999 airs on Really and Discovery+ Friday nights at 9pm.