HOW DID HE WALK AWAY?

Miracle escape for Prince Philip, 97 ++ He’s unhurt but breathalysed after his Land Rover flips in high speed smash ++ Two injured women in second car taken to hospital

THE Duke of Edinburgh had a remarkable escape yesterday after his car overturned in a horrifying road crash.

The 97-year-old royal was driving a Land Rover Freelander when it collided with a Kia car as he pulled out on to a busy A-road near the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

The collision flipped his two-tonne vehicle on to its side – driver’s side down – splintering the windscreen and sending glass and debris across the road. A witness said the Queen’s husband – who was not injured – looked ‘very shocked and shaken’. Last night, police revealed that two women were in the Kia. Both suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital by ambulance after the accident at Babingley, on the outskirts of Sandringham in

Norfolk. The driver suffered cuts while her passenger sustained an arm injury. They were both later discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in nearby King’s Lynn.

Police said Prince Philip and the other driver were breath-tested, in line with Norfolk Police policy. Both provided negative readings.

Last night the duke, who has retired from public duties and underwent a hip replacement last year, was said to be recuperating at home on the estate with the Queen after being given the all-clear by a doctor. Family members, including Prince Charles, who is in Scotland, are being kept informed.

Local parish council chairman Ben Colson said the road – the A149 – which runs around much of the north Norfolk area, had been the scene of several fatal accidents. He said council officials had discussed installing speed cameras or changing the layout.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Philip was driving – and that he had an up-to-date driver’s licence.

The palace added: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle this afternoon. The duke was not injured. The accident took place close to the Sandringham Estate. Local police attended the scene.’

Despite suffering a string of health issues in recent years, including last year’s hip replacement and an operation to insert a stent in his heart, Philip has always insisted on driving himself, as does the Queen.

Unlike the Queen, he wears a seatbelt, which would inevitably have contributed to his apparent lack of injuries. The incident will, however, raise questions about his ability to continue driving, as well as the wider issue of elderly drivers.

Motorists who are 70 or over must renew their driving licence and have to reapply once every three years

In 2014, Prince Charles told a D-Day veteran that he worried about his father’s insistence on driving.

He told the son of Ivor Thomas, a former corporal in the Royal Engineers from Gloucester, who also insisted on driving despite being in a wheelchair: ‘So does my father. I’m always worried.’

According to witnesses, yesterday’s accident happened shortly before 3pm when Philip was pulling out of a ‘driveway’ – believed to be a quiet side road – on to the busy A149 which skirts the Sandringham Estate. The main road has a 60mph speed limit.

One witness told the BBC that the duke’s car was ‘T-boned’, meaning struck from the side, adding: ‘It [the car] was turned over – he was turned over.’

The unnamed witness added: ‘We helped him get out of the car. He was conscious but very, very shocked and shaken. There were lots and lots of police at the incident.’

Berneen Caney, 25, said: ‘It appeared to be quite serious – there was a lot of glass over the road as well as debris. I saw one of the cars was quite badly damaged – as for the Land Rover, its windows were smashed.’

The duke walked away from his overturned vehicle and got into another car, which took him back to Sandringham House. Debris from the crash, including shattered glass and pieces of bumper, was left littered across the road.

The duke normally refuses to travel with a ‘back-up’ vehicle, unlike most members of the Royal Family, but it appears there was a passenger in his car, who would almost certainly have been a Scotland Yard protection officer.

It would have taken only minutes for a back-up car to arrive from the estate after the incident was radioed in.

Builder Jordan Andrew, 21, who drove by later, said: ‘I saw flashing lights, multiple police cars and ambulances. I wondered why there were so many unmarked police cars. There was a black Range Rover with flashing lights which obvi- ously belonged to the police. And there was also a black BMW X5 which had flashing lights.’

Norfolk Police said officers were called ‘following reports of a collision involving two cars’.

The main road through the royal estate remained open while police cleared the crash scene and an ambulance treated those injured.

But there was a large police presence at the site, which is near the Orthodox Church of St Mary and St Felix, known locally as the ‘tin church’.

Last night, the duke’s Land Rover and the Kia were taken away by a recovery truck. One accident expert said it would have taken ‘huge force’ to flip the Land Rover, which has a five-star safety rating and is considered to offer the highest level of side impact protection.

The duke is a regular sight driving around the Sandringham Estate. He was also seen driving former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at Windsor in April 2016.

AA president Edmund King acknowledged the incident would raise public debate about the issue of elderly drivers, but said: ‘We wish the Duke of Edinburgh well. Many commentators use high-profile car crashes involving elderly drivers as a reason to call for bans or restrictions on older drivers.

‘If driving restrictions based on age and safety were introduced we would be more likely to restrict young drivers rather than older drivers.’

‘Very, very shocked and shaken’