EYEWITNESSES have described the horror crash which left a young woman fighting for her life after she was crushed against a wall by a car.
The 26-year-old was walking along a pavement in Heavitree Road, Exeter, when a blue Honda Jazz mounted the curb and trapped her against a shop wall in what has been described as a "freak incident".
People at the scene described the driver travelling down the hill towards the city centre when he hit a bollard and ended up facing the other direction.
Onlookers rushed to try to save the woman before paramedics arrived at the scene.
The victim, who was initially cared for by a road worker and nearby shop staff was said to be "unconscious" when emergency crews arrived.
She was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where she remains in a critical condition.
The driver, a 93-year-old man from the Teignbridge area, and his female passenger, had to be cut free by fire crews.
It is the second time in five years that a vehicle has hit the same wall of the Exeter Sewing Machine Company. Owner David Williams, who was inside the shop at the time, described hearing an "almighty bang" when the car hit.
He said: "It was horrible. A Honda had gone through the bollard, mounted a curb and crushed this poor girl.
"She was bleeding and looked like she was badly injured. A man who was working in the road was there before us and was holding her head up but she appeared to lose consciousness. "We phoned the emergency services and the ambulance arrived very quickly and gave her oxygen.
"It took a while for them to move the car off."
Mr Williams said the elderly driver had been coming down the hill from Heavitree and did a U-turn.
It is understood a nearby cyclist narrowly avoided being hit by the car.
"It can't have been intentional as there would be no need for it. The roundabout is just a few yards away," he said.
"One of my members of staff was holding the driver's hand for about an hour, comforting him and trying to stop him from moving while they cut off the roof. Another member of staff directed traffic as the police seemed to take a long time turning up.
"The poor girl was in a bad state. We would like to know how she is getting on and to send her some flowers. We just hope she makes a good recovery.
"It was really awful. We just heard a bang and all rushed out. We have all been left quite shaken up by it and thinking about what happened."
A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said when they arrived there were two people trapped in a blue Honda and one person trapped against the wall by the car.
The woman trapped against the wall was released by the crews and taken to hospital.
The fire service freed the elderly driver and his female passenger from the Honda after removing the roof of the vehicle. The woman sustained a broken arm and was taken to hospital. The driver was uninjured.
An additional ambulance was requested as a passer-by who helped the driver who was suffering from shock. He was treated by the fire service using a resuscitator.
Heavitree Road was closed for several hours following the accident last Thursday, with delays both ways between Western Way junction and Gladstone Road junctions.
Officers from the serious collisions investigation team are investigating. Witnesses are asked to call 101, quoting reference 251 of 28/03/13.
