Taxi involved in two car Portsmouth crash
A taxi driver was rescued by firefighters after her car flipped onto its roof.
The Elite Cars taxi shunted into the back of a Renault Clio in Northern Parade, Hilsea, Portsmouth, at 1.15pm yesterday.
It then overturned and landed on the pavement close to the Vita Road junction.
The 36-year-old taxi driver, from Southsea, ended up trapped in her cab with glass and debris scattered across the road and pavement.
Police blocked off a large section of the road and diverted traffic down several side streets, including Kipling Road, as firefighters from Cosham got to work releasing the trapped woman from her vehicle, a black Vauxhall Zafira.
She was eventually freed half an hour after the crash and taken to a waiting ambulance to be checked over by paramedics.
She went to hospital but was later discharged. The driver of the Clio, a 19-year-old man from Waterlooville, was unharmed.
Cosham fire watch manager Tim Pringle said: 'It looks like the Clio had stopped and was indicating to turn right when the taxi came up into the back of it.'
The accident happened close to the fixed speed camera in Northern Parade.
Window cleaner Anthony Moore was working a short distance away when he heard the crash.
The 48-year-old said: 'I couldn't believe the taxi just ended up on its roof like that. I have just seen the police checking the speed camera so I reckon they will be seeing if anybody was going too fast.
'There were loads of sirens, fire engines, police and ambulances. I've never seen so many.'
George Newing, 76, of Northern Parade, Hilsea, added: 'All of a sudden there were lots of sirens. They were really loud then they came to an abrupt end.
'I went outside and saw that one car had completely turned over and was on its roof.
'I don't know how the car ended up like that.
'We haven't had an accident like this here for a while, just the odd shunt here and there.'
Police reopened the road just before 2.40pm.
A CHANGE OF PLAN
Watch manager Tim Pringle told The News that at first the rescue crews were planning to get the trapped taxi driver out through the back of the car but changed their minds half way through the rescue.
He said: 'We were going to take her out of the back but once we got the steering wheel out of the way it was quite easy to get her out of the driver's door.
'We had cut the back seats out of the car already in preparation to get her out but things can change quickly.'
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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