Dad-of-two makes 'miracle' recovery after horror bicycle crash on busy Northampton road

A 'miracle' Northampton dad has described what it has been like recovering from a summer bike ride which left him in an induced coma and close to death.

Chris Knight, of Rushmills, was air lifted to University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire after he cycled into parked cars in London Road, Far Cotton on a sunny and dry evening on July 13.

Chris, a keen cyclist, said: "I don't know what happened. I have no recollection of the accident or aftermath. I must have been a mechanical failure or a rider error. It was either a pothole or a misjudgment. You've only got to be six inches one way or the other and you've hit a parked car.

"I think my bike helmet was the first thing that saved me; it completely split. So that, I think, saved my life initially before the medics even got hold of me."

The father-of-two, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as broken ribs and a collapsed lung, was put into an induced coma for two weeks.

The 53-year-old’s situation appeared to be deteriorating and he was just moments away from having his life support machine turned off before one doctor gave him more time to recover.

"Just as I’d been placed on palliative care to get ready to donate organs and for life support to be switched off, I woke up. I basically woke up at the last minute,” said Chris.

Asked how his family reacted to the two week ordeal, Chris said it was “traumatic” for them.

He said: "It was so difficult for them. Traumatic. I just slept through all of this. It was really on them, all the trauma, the up and down journey. Very, very difficult."

Following on from his miracle recovery, Chris spent four weeks rehabilitating at Central England Rehabilitation Unit at Leamington Spa where he had to relearn how to walk, breathe, eat, swallow, speak and take care of himself.

"With excellent professional care, determination, luck, faith and love, I have turned a huge corner," he said.

"I've been home now for about 10 days. It's wonderful to be home. It's been lovely spending time with my wife. It's brilliant. It feels like I've been given a second chance."

Chris's wife Vicki said her husband is being called a “miracle” and thanked emergency services for their help.

She said: "Thank you to all the emergency services. He is amazing, a survivor. It's unbelievable, really. People say it's a miracle. His son calls him Lazarus, which is a story in the bible about a man being raised from the dead. It's wonderful, really, to have him back with us."

Chris thanked his friends, family and medical experts who have all supported him throughout his difficult journey.

He said: "It does also just make you very grateful for the time and the effort that you've invested into friendships and relationships in your family, because they've all been absolutely marvellous.”

Asked if he will ever get back on a bicycle again, Chris said he and Vicki have spoken about it.

He said: "We talk about it. She's very cautious. I think I probably will but where there's not any traffic to start with.”