A grateful mum yesterday told how her baby girl was brought back from the dead after FOUR minutes trapped underwater in a crashed car.
Beckie Thompson was driving four month-old Imogen from nursery when she lost control and plunged into a roadside ditch.
Beckie, 21, was flung into the rear seats as her Peugeot 206 landed upside down and lost sight of her daughter in the confusion.
She managed to climb out of the car and frantically hunted for her baby before eventually spotting her toes poking out of the shallow water.
Beckie pulled her blue and lifeless from her babyseat and handed her to some people on the bank who had stopped to help.
A mystery Good Samaritan wrapped little unconscious Imogen in his teeshirt and then spent a further THREE minutes performing CPR on her.
Beckie and the stranger burst into tears of relief when the baby eventually started crying – and the man then left as paramedics arrived and took over.
Imogen was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham where water was pumped from her tiny lungs and stomach.
She was monitored for three nights and is now back home in Spalding, Lincs. after making a full recovery.
Beckie, a trainee nurse, said: “It is a miracle that she is alive.
“For all intents and purposes she was dead for seven minutes – four in the car, then three at the roadside.
“It was like an outer body experience, like I was watching it on a soap or something.
“She had blue lips and blue finger tips. I really didn’t think she was going to wake up.
“The doctors don’t really know how she managed to survive let alone escape without any brain damage or anything.
“Maybe it is because she is a bit of a chubbier baby, but it is still a total mystery.”
Beckie crashed into the shallow ditch on the morning of September 17 when she swerved to avoid another car on the narrow road near Spalding.
As she screamed for help another motorist stopped and saw what was happening and began timing the incident so medics would know how long Imogen had been in the water.
Beckie, who had only been driving for six weeks, said: “Once I had got Imogen to the bank this random driver came and started giving her CPR but she didn’t react at first.
“He kept going until she started to make a noise but he kept on going until she was full on screaming.
“That poor man was shaking and crying as he tried to resuscitate her. I can’t thank him enough – I owe my little girl’s life to him.”
The unknown rescuer left the scene without leaving his details and Beckie is appealing for him to get in touch so she can fully thank him.
Beckie, who also has a five year-old daughter Alexis, was treated for cuts to her face and a minor puncture injury where her car keys pierced her elbow.
