Crash helper found his son dying

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/suffolk/8125143.stm

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A man who stopped to help at the scene of a road crash in Suffolk found his youngest son fatally injured.

Optometrist Guy Marshall, 53, who has received first aid training, got out of his car to help at the scene of the crash near his home in Orford.

It was then he realised his son Thomas, 18, had been involved in a collision with a Mazda MX-5 while riding a Suzuki GS 500cc motorcycle.

He administered first aid and got his son breathing but Thomas later died.

Mr Marshall told the BBC as he was driving home he came to the scene of an accident and as he was a trained volunteer responder, he jumped out of his car to see if he could help.

He was always cheerful and loving Guy Marshall, father of Thomas

"As I walked down the road, I just knew it was Thomas and there he was at the bottom of the hill," he said.

"It was only a feeling, but I knew in my heart of hearts."

Mr Marshall said he managed to resuscitate him and held his dying son in his arms before paramedics and an air ambulance arrived.

He paid tribute to his son, saying Thomas "was always willing to help. He was always cheerful and loving".

Guy Marshall said he knew as he approached the crash that he would find his son, Thomas

Thomas's mother Wendy Marshall said: "Thomas was very gregarious - always laughing, always joking.

"He was very considerate and always helpful. He was a bright light."

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Police said an investigation has been launched into the incident, which happened at about 1700 BST on the Ipswich road out of Orford on 12 June.

She described the fact Thomas's father had arrived at the crash scene to help as "tragic".

Thomas, who died in hospital a short time after the crash, had completed a set of A-level exams hours earlier and was due to enjoy a night out in Ipswich, his family said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Suffolk Police.