Businessman Malcolm Wood was minutes from death when a doctor from Norfolk Accident Rescue Service arrived at the scene of a crash on the A47 near Dereham.
Nearly 30 years on a chance encounter with the charity has prompted a revived effort to track down the medic who saved his life.
A trailer came loose from a Bedford van and hit Mr Wood's Vauxhall Carlton head on, flipping the car on its roof and sending it skidding into the embankment.
Mr Wood, 44 at the time, from Longham, near Dereham, suffered a fractured skull, broken shoulder, broken ribs and was unable to walk for several weeks. He recovered after intensive physiotherapy but still suffers slight memory loss as a result of the accident.
His wife Christine and children Claire and Edward, aged 10 and eight at the time, were in the car but escaped unharmed.
The story of that almost fatal day on November 11, 1989, resurfaced recently when Paul Strutt, from NARS, gave a talk at King's Lynn Trinity Rotary Club, of which Mr Wood is a member.
Mr Wood, now 72, said: 'I kept quiet until the end, when I gave the vote of thanks. I said I had every reason to be thankful to NARS as one of their doctors saved my life nearly 30 years ago.'
Mr Wood had started a small chocolate factory in Fakenham, 18 months before the accident, called Gilchris Confectionary, with his wife and business partner George Robson.
He few years later they sold the business, which became Fakenham's famous Kinnerton chocolate factory.
Mr Wood said: 'I was told to take six months off work but I was back after six weeks. Fortunately the business wasn't affected and I carried on working as a consultant for Kinnerton until 2015.
'I was incredibly lucky to survive that crash. I later learned I wouldn't have made it to the hospital if it wasn't for the NARS doctor.
'I've thanked the firefighters who cut me free, ambulance driver, surgeon, everyone who helped me in hospital - even the man who towed my vehicle away.
'The one person I haven't been able to thank was the doctor who saved my life. If he or she is still alive today, I would love to meet them and thank them for what they did.'
Anyone able to help Mr Wood can call him on 01362 687645.
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