A teenager who sat in the snow with a young girl after she was seriously hurt in a sledging accident has been commended.
Evie Collie crashed into a tree while sledging down a steep hill at Westhill Golf Club in February this year.
Local teenager Alfie Fraser saw the drama unfold and raced to help the 11-year-old, dialling 999 and then staying by her side until paramedics arrived.
Wearing only trainers, and with no gloves, Alfie battled through the thick snow to carry equipment for the team before helping lift Evie into the ambulance.
Now Alfie, from Westhill, has been commended by the Scottish Ambulance Service for his heroics.
Alfie said: “I saw what had happened and knew she must have been badly hurt so I had to act quickly. And I was glad I was there to help.”
Getting Evie to hospital was ‘only made possible with Alfie’s help’
He was presented with a certificate by area service manager Keith Jensen and paramedic Valerie Bruce, who was called to the scene of the accident.
She said: “Alfie had no gloves, and was wearing just trainers, and yet he battled against the elements to help us get Evie to safety.
“In all my years of being in the service, I’ve never come across such a helpful member of the public and one so young. Getting this critically injured child to hospital was only made possible with Alfie’s help.”
Ms Bruce nominated him for the Inspiring Aberdeenshire Awards and in August Alfie was honoured with the Local Hero Courage award for his quick-thinking and heroic actions.
Alife was also reunited with Evie and her parents, who thanked him for his assistance.
Evie’s mum Marlene Collie said: “We would like to say a big thanks to Alfie for helping Evie and he really deserved this certificate.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to the paramedics Valerie and Phil (Gobey) who attended to Evie at the scene of her accident and on transfer to ED. They were very kind, maintaining a professional, calm and reassuring manner in what was such a frightening and stressful situation for us as a family.”
She added: “Also a huge thank you to the team at ED in ARI along with the HDU team at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital. We are so very fortunate to have such skilled medics, paramedics and the Scottish Ambulance Service who face extreme pressures, especially in the current challenging climate.”