Diabetic driver has narrow escape after she passes out and flips car
‘I can’t tell you how lucky I was’ says Liz from Burbage
A DIABETIC woman narrowly escaped death after she blacked out at the wheel of her car and it flipped onto its roof.
Liz Robinson, from Burbage, was driving along the A5 when she passed out and her vehicle crashed by the side of the road, near Jurys Inn Hinckley Island Hotel.
She was badly bruised in the incident, which only involved her car, and pieces of glass from the shattered windows went into her hands.
The 62-year-old said the “stupid” accident happened because she didn’t check her blood sugar levels as she was tired and in a rush to get home from Lutterworth.
She is urging others with the illness to make sure they do the test before they drive.
PCSO Darren Stretton and PC Barry Miller were the first on the scene after they got a 999 call from a passing taxi driver who saw the overturned motor.
They got there in just a few minutes as they were about to finish their shift when they heard about the incident, which happened at about 10.30pm on Thursday September 26.
Darren said: “When you are approaching the car, you don’t know what you are going to find.
“She was hanging upside down - you just have to react to what’s there.
“She was conscious, that was a relief, but we didn’t know what the injuries were.
“It was just a case of keeping her talking. We asked where she was from, we talked about holidays and how long she’s lived here.”
Fire crews from Hinckley and Lutterworth attended and cut open the vehicle so they could free Liz, with one member staying by her side and explaining to her what was going on.
She was taken by ambulance to University Hospitals Coventry and remarkably was allowed to go home after just a day of treatment.
“I can’t tell you how lucky I was”, said Liz.
“I was in the observation ward at the hospital but I managed to satisfy all the criteria. All the emergency services were incredible.”
Hinckley Police posted about the crash on its Facebook page.
Liz commented on the post: “If you are a Type 1 diabetic or need to test your blood before driving... DO IT!
“Never, ever think that it won’t matter, just once. Also, never forget to fasten your seatbelt.
“It can save your life. It did save mine. Once again, my heartfelt thanks to all the emergency services.”
Liz has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 10.
She said she will never drive again after the crash, which will mean a lot of adjustments for her. “It’s going to affect me dramatically. I’m always nipping about, going to clubs and societies”, she said.
“I will feel awkward asking for assistance. I have been fiercely independent - the diabetes wasn’t going to defeat me.”
Liz is still in a lot of pain with the bruises and bits of glass are still coming to the surface of her hands.
PCSO Darren has visited her at her home since the crush to check up on her and return a curious item, which Liz’s two spaniels were pleased to see again.
Liz said: “I’d got a tennis ball in the back of the car.
“Everybody collected everything they could out of the car before it was towed away. Darren, bless him, found the dogs’ tennis ball.
“He returned it yesterday - the dogs were delighted.”
She was relieved that her two pooches, Springer Spaniel Milo and Cocker Spaniel Lexi, were not in the car with her at the time of the crash.
The fire crews had to cut out a metal dog guard to get Liz out from the wreckage.
“Everyone came together to sort her out”, Darren said.
“It’s good for the public to know how the services work together and to raise awareness of how we work on a traffic accident.”