A teenage boy ‘died from fright’ twice and is now fighting for his life after going into cardiac arrest while a gang tried to rob his friend.
Blake Spiers is in a critical condition in hospital after the attempted robbery in Manchester city centre on Sunday night. The 14-year-old had been with a friend dancing to a TikTok in Piccadilly Gardens when the group ran over and targeted another boy in the group.
The youngster suffered from cardiac arrest at the scene, his mum has said, before his heart stopped again in the ambulance as hero paramedics revived him both times. His mum, Tracy Spiers, spoke out as her son remains at Manchester Royal Infirmary following the terrifying ordeal.
Tracey, 35, said her son was still “trying to open his eyes” and was “definitely not out of the woods” just yet. “Nobody wants to see their child like that, fighting for his life,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “They scared my son to the point where where he had a cardiac arrest.”
The mum also spoke to reach out to the good Samaritans who stepped in to help Blake as he lay in the street after attempted robbery at around 9pm on Sunday. Seeing the teen, the couple had alerted emergency services. Tracey said: “I don’t know who you are, but thank you.”
On the evening in question, Tracey said Blake has “snuck out” to meet up with some friends, and the youngsters had been “dancing” to a TikTok video when they were approached by the older kids. Thankfully, the perpetrators did not physically assault the victim, but Tracey believes the fear sparked in Blake may have triggered his heart.
“His friend said nobody touched him. He was that scared something happened, he’s got no problem, no heart conditions, it doesn’t make any sense.” Tracey, who recently gave birth to Blake’s baby brother, Louie, added: “He’s amazing, he’s dead funny, he’s dead loud and he’s just an amazing kid, he really is. He’s my sidekick, where I go he goes.
“I didn’t want to live without my son, he’s everything to me. If he didn’t make it neither would I.” The family is now facing an agonising wait for test results to find out if Blake has suffered any permanent damage following his cardiac arrest.
“We’re waiting on more tests, the brain scan and the heart scan,” she said. “One of the scans came back but his pupils are ok, so that’s looking good. He’s trying to wake up.” She added: “My mum and nana Lorraine and Mary, they died not long ago and they were definitely looking over him.”
Tracey said she wanted to “raise awareness” after the horrendous incident on Sunday evening. “It’s bad that kids think they can go and do that to other kids,” she said. “It’s quite scary. Blake and his friends were just having fun.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to Market Street shortly before 9pm on Sunday and that “several positive lines of enquiry” were being followed, although no arrests had yet been made. A spokesman said: “A scene was in place for a short time, and we have lots of officers continually deployed to the area to provide reassurance to those who travel into the city centre.
“During the incident, a 14-year-boy, and a friend of the victim, suffered a serious medical episode resulting in members of the public coming to his aid and him going to hospital. It is believed that his condition is no longer life-threatening.” The Mirror has also contacted North West Ambulance Service for comment.
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