Hayley’s bravery rewarded by SAS after coming to aid of dad and sister after crash

Hayley McKay, 11, was given the certificate by SAS staff members, Poppy Currie, Paramedic, Simon Hughes, Technician, both of Aberdeen Station, and Robert Gordon University student Jack Gunn (featured in the picture).

Hayley was travelling with her dad, John, and sister Emily, eight, when they crashed outside Bucksburn Police Station earlier this year (April 20).

An emergency call was placed, with the Aberdeen frontline crew and Jack attending within five minutes. Hayley calmed her younger sister and assisted the crew with assessing her before a second crew, Abi Le Quesne, Newly Qualified Paramedic, and Rebecca Gray, Technician,  attended.

Hayley’s mum said Rebecca: “Getting the call from John to say he had had an accident was incredibly scary and worrying – I didn’t know exactly what had happened or how bad the situation  was. Once I arrived, the Scottish Ambulance Service staff were extremely calm and reassured me that John and the girls were all okay and praised Hayley highly for her help.”

To reward Hayley, Sarah Louise Houghton, Paramedic Team Leader in Aberdeen, welcomed the family to the Ambulance station and gave them a tour.

Rebecca said: “We are always extremely proud of our girls but the calmness and strength that Hayley showed that day blew us all away. At such a young age, she truly showed just how amazing she is to us and others around her. The verbal praise we received from paramedics was astounding in itself but for her to receive the certificate and be offered into the station was beyond kind and thoughtful.

“We all had an amazing afternoon visiting and seeing them all again. Everyone was so welcoming and offered such a positive experience for the girls after such a scary time. We couldn’t be more grateful for the kindness shown to us both at the time of the accident and at the station visit.” 

Sarah said: “The family was lovely and so grateful for the chance to meet the crew and pass on their thanks; they even dropped off a wee bag of goodies for the station which was incredibly kind of them. They were hugely complimentary of the crew, which is so nice to hear. Equally the crew were delighted to meet with Hayley again and wasted no time in praising her for all of her efforts. We might have a new recruit in years to come - you never know.”