Arriva comes to the rescue

When Pete Styles looks back over his long career there willalways be one memory that stands out above all the rest – theday he saved the life of one of his regular customers.

It all happened a few months back when Pete was about to pullaway from a bus stop on Route 42 (South Wigston to Leicester CityCentre).

Noticing in his mirror that a woman was running to catch thebus, the Wigston driver decided to wait for her.

Without warning, however, the woman collapsed in the road,before reaching the bus.

Pete and another customer instantly went to her aid, but sincethe woman had no detectable heartbeat or pulse Pete immediatelycontacted the emergency services for help.

Following their instructions, Pete administered CPR andmouth-to-mouth resuscitation until a police officer and paramedicsarrived.

The lady was later taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary and,incredibly, despite suffering another heart attack, slipping into acoma for three weeks and undergoing triple heart bypass, she hassince made a full recovery.

It was an amazing day – one I will never forget.It wasn't until afterwards that I suddenly realised I'd helped tosave a person's life,

said Pete who has been a bus driver for 29 years.

Despite appearing on the front page of the Leicester Mercury,receiving a bravery award from the chief constable ofLeicestershire Police and being hailed a hero by family andfriends, Pete admits it was the letter he received from thecustomer that meant the most to him.

The nicest praise of all was from the lady herself. Shesent me a lovely letter thanking me for saving herlife.

I'd really like to see her again and hope she'll catchthe bus one day soon,

added Pete.

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