Pensioner fights for life after crash

Annie Davidson

AN elderly man is fighting for his life after a serious car accident which closed one of Tendring's main roads closed for several hours.

The 84-year-old, from Walton, was in a blue Vauxhall estate which collided with another car at the junction of the A120 and Harwich Road in Wix.

The accident sent the pensioner's car down an embankment and into a field where he was trapped for around 40 minutes as firefighters worked to free him from the wreckage.

He suffered serious internal injuries in the accident at 12.25pm on Friday and was airlifted by Essex Air Ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for specialist treatment.

His condition was last night described as "critical but stable."

Essex Ambulance Service sent two land ambulances, the Essex Air Ambulance and two rapid response crews to the accident scene.

Paramedic Shani Nicholls said: "The 84-year-old man suffered serious injuries to his chest and seemed quite poorly.

"While the fire officers worked to free him the crews were able to gain access to him to give appropriate care

"Once out of the car the patient was anesthetised at the roadside by air ambulance doctor Ben O Brien so that further treatment could be carried out and then flown to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge."

The pensioner's wife, also aged 84, had rib and back injuries and is being treated in Colchester General Hospital.

The couple's car had collided with a silver BMW which was travelling in the direction of Colchester.

Its driver, a 32-year-old woman from Harwich, was initially knocked unconscious in the crash and later complained of lower torso and head pains as ambulance crews treated her.

She was also taken to Colchester General Hospital but was due to be discharged over the weekend.

Police closed the road for several hours as they examined the scene to try and establish the cause of the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact Pc Phil Pringle at Stanway Road Policing Unit on 0300 333 4444.