Kindness of strangers: a woman lay on the road beside me, holding my hand until the ambulance came

‘I couldn’t believe somebody so thoughtful could exist – I mean, what an angel.’ Composite: Victoria Hart/Guardian design

I could see the car and knew I was going to hit it. People ask: did your life flash before your eyes? It didn’t. The only thing I remember thinking was: “Oh well”. In an instant all those things I’d been worrying about until that point didn’t matter, because I was about to die. Oh well!

There was nothing I could do. I was on my motorbike on a dark and rainy night in rush hour traffic when a car pulled across into my lane without looking. I couldn’t avoid hitting it, I couldn’t brake, I was going to hit the car and I was going to die.