A driver crashed after having a heart attack at the wheel – and his family has appealed to find the stranger who saved his life.

He was helped by a member of the public after suffering a cardiac arrest and mounting the kerb. 

A man pulled him from his vehicle and performed CPR until the ambulance service arrived.

His sister, who The Argus is choosing not to name, launched a search to find the Good Samaritan.

It is understood that her appeal, made on Facebook, was successful.

In a Facebook post, the woman said: “I’m trying to find the wonderful human that performed CPR on my brother earlier in Kemp Town.

“My brother, who had a cardiac arrest while driving, was pulled from the car by a gentleman and they gave him CPR which saved his life.

"I’m desperate to find this person to say thank you.”

The incident happened in Kemp Town on Friday, October 14, at around 1.50pm.

An eyewitness described how a van mounted the kerb at the corner of Percival Terrace.

The emergency services rushed to the scene and the road was closed to traffic.

A man was then seen being put into the back of an ambulance.

The ambulance service confirmed he had collapsed in the car and that he had been taken to hospital in a serious condition.  

The Argus: Emergency services attended the scene on Friday, October 14. Credit: Gareth UnwinEmergency services attended the scene on Friday, October 14. Credit: Gareth Unwin (Image: Gareth Unwin)

He was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital at around 2.20pm for further treatment.

Sussex Police confirmed he was in a stable condition after the incident that involved two vehicles.

A spokesman said: “The road was closed while emergency services, including colleagues from Secamb, attend the scene.

“The driver of one of the vehicles was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.”

There has been a renewed focus on the importance of CPR following high-profile cardiac arrests such as that of Danish footballer Christian Eriksen during the European Championships in 2021.

It is thought that as many as 5,000 lives a year can be saved by people learning basic CPR techniques.

According to Resuscitation Council UK in 2019, 59 per cent of people said that they had received CPR training.

It is estimated that annually around 30,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and that for every minute that passes following a cardiac arrest and before CPR is commenced and a defibrillator used, the chances of a patient surviving drops by ten per cent.

In 2022, still fewer than one person in ten survives an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

St John Ambulance volunteers in Sussex are currently giving free demonstrations of life saving skills as part of the annual Restart A Heart campaign this month.

St John’s trained volunteers have arranged demonstrations in locations around the country between October 5 and 28 to give people opportunities to attend and learn essential first aid skills.