Håkon Nilsen, 51, was involved in an accident on August 9, and was run over by a truck in his yard in Tønsberg.

For several minutes he lay under a nearly 13 tonne truck, pressing against his body.

He himself remembers nothing.

– I’m actually happy about that, he told Dagbladet.

Past Tønsbergs Blad who mentioned the problem first.

Self informed

From under the car, he managed to call the 113 center and was informed of the incident. Nilsen is said to have had emergency services on the phone for a full ten minutes before he became silent.

– My heart must have stopped and from what I have been told, I am absolutely lifeless and my skin is turning blue, he said.

Three or four minutes later, the first emergency services were on the scene. A police officer who came to the rescue found a trolley jack in the repair shop, and managed to jack up the car enough for Nilsen to start breathing again. Not long after, some emergency services came and freed him. Time must be very important.

He was then transported to Ullevål hospital by air ambulance. There he was placed in an artificial coma for a time. In total, he spent about ten days in hospital, both in Oslo and in Tønsberg.

– Not lucky

Nilsen remembers almost nothing from his stay, except for the last two days.

He is a professional driver and has worked in the same company for 13 years. He explained that the accident occurred when the air bag in the tire, which is the vehicle’s suspension system, burst.

– It was bad luck that I was lying under just when it happened. It could have happened when I was standing next to him, Nilsen said.

He should have just changed the light bulb, and said that this kind of thing happens from time to time.

Today, more than three weeks later, he is improving, but some pain and injuries remain.

– Three fingers on my right hand are completely numb, and I have almost no strength in my hand. In addition, the little finger on the right hand went numb, after several nerves were pinched, Nilsen said.

However, his memory was still the same as before.

The police had taken his driver’s license for one month from the date of the accident, to confirm that he was fit to drive again. The workplace had given him two months of sick leave.

“It’s holding me back a little bit, but at the same time I have to do what I have to do, apart from work,” Nilsen said of his injury.

– Save all the time

Be grateful

He himself seems afraid to go out on the street again.

– I’ve never been in a traffic accident, so driving again is fine. But it depends on the finger. There’s a lot of workload at work, and I can’t do it right now, he said and added:

– But I probably won’t get in the truck again, without securing the vehicle.

He had been ordered to train his hands again. Besides, he had to take the time to help out.

Died in a freak airport accident

The incident was very traumatic for the family. After that, Nilsen would like to express his gratitude to everyone who helped save his life on that fateful day.

The police chief and task leader Henning Staff, who was the first to be on the scene, explained to Tønsbergs Blad that first impressions were very serious.

– When we arrived it was completely flat. “We just managed to get the trolley jack under the truck, and it’s only six centimeters high,” he told the newspaper.

According to the doctor at the scene, the trolley jack must have saved Nilsen’s life.