Amanda Mealing’s victim rushed to help herafter she crashed into his car while high on cocaine. Off duty nurse Mark Le Sage was driving along in his Skoda Kodiaq, a 1.6ton SUV when he noticed Casualty actress Amanda’s Mini on the wrong side of the road as he approached a bend at 10.14am on January 26, last year.

The actress who played no-nonsense Connie Beauchamp on the BBC medical drama and its sister soap, Holby City, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of cocaine and driving without due care and attention. The court also heard how the actress turned director had 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, with the legal limit being 10mcg. The actress has been banned from driving for 22 months and orders to pay £485 in fines.

Boston Magistrates Court also heard that Amanda was also in excess of 240mcg of benzoylecgonine, which is the chemical that cocaine leaves after being metabolised in the body. This is almost five times over the legal limit of 50mcg. Despite being knocked unconscious following the collision, Mark Le Sage’s natural instincts kicked in when he came around.

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Amanda Mealing pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of cocaine(Image: BBC / Alistair Heap)

The off duty nurse had been travelling to work, where he worked in the operating theatres before the collision. Shortly after coming around, he noticed that Ms Mealing had blood pouring down her face and instantly rushed over to help the star. In a new interview, Mr Le Sage has detailed the moments after the crash.

“I looked over and saw she had blood running down the left side of her face,” he told the Daily Mail. He went on to add: “Luckly, there was an off-duty fire fighter following my car and he had pulled over to give her first aid. I think my nursing instincts kicked in – I went over to see her. She was still sat in her car. I had to make sure she was OK.”

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The crash happened in Lincolnshire last year

He told the publication that Ms Mealing was breathalysed by police at the roadside, who allegedly checked his phone to ensure he hadn’t been using it in the minutes leading up to the crash. Mark was advised by paramedics to make his own way to hospital for his injuries as the ambulance which had been dispatched for him was diverted to another incident.

Meanwhile, Ms Mealing was taken by ambulance to a hospital and an air ambulance also attended the collision in Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire. Mark claims that an off duty fire officer was travelling behind his car and instantly stopped following the collision to offer first aid to Amanda. Prosecutor Marie Stace informed the court that Mealing, 57, who appeared under her married name of Amanda Sainsbury, sustained a head cut, a broken wrist and a broken clavicle in the January 2024 accident.

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But during a court hearing on Friday, Mark told prosecutor Ms Stace that he didn’t believe Amanda should be jailed for the incident. He said that the court heard how Amanda had children and had “suffered” like he had. “I did not think it was appropriate for her to be jailed,” he said.

Nurse Mark Le Page was initially trapped in his vehicle after becoming unconscious

Since the incident, Mark has had to give up his job as a theatre nurse as he was unable to fill syringes due to a new tremor. He is also unable to stand on his feet for a long period of time and cannot work in the colder temperatures in the operating theatres.

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In a police interview, Mealing confessed to taking cocaine the night before, according to Ms Stace. Le Sage, in a victim impact statement read out in court, stated that his fine motor skills have been seriously affected, preventing him from continuing his job as a theatre nurse.

Mealing’s solicitor, Mr Edward Lloyd, told the court that the defendant does not accept Le Sage’s account of his injuries, stating he wasn’t taken to hospital by ambulance, and there is no evidence of that level of injury. Mr Lloyd said: “In terms of the offence, my client pleaded guilty to drug driving at the very first opportunity.

“It’s something she’s deeply ashamed of. She’s not somebody who takes drugs at all. Her brother died of a drugs overdose when he was 18 and she says herself that she should have known better.”

Off duty nurse Mark Le Sage rushed to give Amanda medical attention after the crash(Image: Facebook)