A crash victim is calling for the bus driver who discovered him unconscious on the roadside to get in touch for a heartfelt thanks.

Jerome Mader has no memory of his accident on the night of November 4, 2016. “I woke up in the hospital three or four days later,” he recalled.

Fighting a serious head injury, he had been placed in a medically induced coma.

All Mr Mader remembers for sure prior to his accident is that he was heading east on North Shore Road, approaching Flatts.

Whatever happened next sent him crashing through the wooden railings — breaking his back in two places, and badly injuring his face.

But the quick medical attention he received, with the help of the man who found him there, not only helped to save his sight in his left eye; Mr Mader is convinced it saved his life.

Of the bus operator who stopped for him, Mr Mader said simply: “He is my hero.”

He is also sure that the driver who came to his aid will remember him, saying: “It’s not every day that a bus driver finds a person who has been in an accident. He didn’t have to stop. He got off the bus and called 911.”

Others stopped at the scene, and Mr Mader said he was later told that the bus driver deterred others from moving him.

Moving a victim of spinal injury is best left to professionals, as dragging an injured person from the scene can worsen the damage.

Today, every time Mr Mader passes that curve near Gibbet’s Beach, popularly known as police beach, “it reminds me of how blessed I am”.

Two close friends have been lost in recent years: the life of Landro Minors was claimed by a crash on Middle Road, Flatts, in November 2011, while Fiqre Crockwell was shot dead in June 2016. The three were “inseparable”, Mr Mader said.

“I have angels. To me, they are the reason I am here today. I shouldn’t be here.”

His injuries linger. The left side of his head is still “numb”, and his face is a constant source of pain.

“My memory is not as strong as it used to be; it’s still healing. But I still have 20-20 vision in my eye.”

With no health insurance, Mr Mader racked up $40,000 in hospital bills and is struggling to cover the cost of his treatment.

But after turning 28 in March, he counts himself “blessed to see another year”.

Along with the doctors who worked on him and the firefighters and EMTs who came to his aid, he thanked his girlfriend Kirlita Brown for her support, and the Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club for helping with fundraisers.

In the meantime, he said, the accident had “been an eye-opener for me” — and Mr Mader’s advice to others is: “Stay alert.”

“There are so many people out there who have no knowledge of others on the road.”

• Are you the person who helped? E-mail jbell@royalgazette.com — or jerome_mader@hotmail.com.