A man who was one of the first on the scene of a fatal car crash on the A120 on Saturday afternoon has told how he and others helped remove an injured woman from the wreckage.

East Anglian Daily Times: Emergency services were called to the scene of a fatal road accident on the A120 at the Coggeshall bypass on Saturday, August 1, at 2.40pm. Picture: NEIL PHILLIPSEmergency services were called to the scene of a fatal road accident on the A120 at the Coggeshall bypass on Saturday, August 1, at 2.40pm. Picture: NEIL PHILLIPS (Image: Archant)

Neil Phillips lives in Nottingham and was driving back from Colchester along the A120 when the crash between a white Mercedes and a white Peugeot car happened.

Essex Police were called to the scene at the Coggeshall bypass between West Street and Colchester Road at 2.40pm and a man in his 20s died at the scene.

A man in his 50s and a woman in her late teens were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Just three or four vehicles behind the accident Mr Phillips got out to go and see if he could help the victims.

He recalled: “It was pretty horrendous.

“Me and a few of the other guys there called the emergency services and found the girl trapped in the car.

“We all helped out to get her out. “There was also fuel leaking out of the car which added to the pressure so we just wanted to get her out of there as soon as possible.”

According to Mr Phillips, a former policeman was on the scene and stayed with the injured teenage girl, talking to her until the ambulance arrived.

The accident was one of three tragic crashes which have happened over the weekend.

On Friday night a 17-year-old boy died after his motorbike crashed into a tree in Frinton Road, Kirby Cross.

Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning a man in his 20s died after his red Ford Fiesta crashed into a tree at the junction of America Road and Coggeshall Road in Earls Colne, just five miles away from the A120 accident hours before.

Andrew Erskine, Conservative councillor for Tendring Rural East, said it was awful news to hear about the fatal crashes.

He said: “For the parents, the loss of a child is absolutely horrific.

“It is tragic that it takes the death of a young person to get the roads improved and we have to take our lessons from this.”