WOMAN IS CUT FREE FROM A19 WRECKAGE
Photographs shared by the fire service show the painstaking efforts put into rescuing a woman after her Range Rover left the A 19 and crashed into trees.
The collision happened just before 8am yesterday on the northbound carriageway of the route and near to its junction with the A183 Chester Road.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said the collision involved a Range Rover and a LGV, while the North East Ambulance Service confirmed a second patient was also treated at the scene.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “Firefighters from Farringdon and Rainton Bridge Community Fire Stations used Holmatro cutting equipment this morning to release a trapped driver following an RTC on the slip road of the A19 /A183 junction.
“The crews removed the Range Rover's rear seats and driver's door to release the casualty. “They were then passed over to North East Ambulance Service.”
The incident caused delays for traffic for around an hour while Northumbria Police closed off the road, and drivers were asked to avoid the area until the scene was clear, with a diversion in place.
The North East Ambulance Service said an off-duty nurse was on the scene to help the injured woman, who was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “The road was closed immediately before the A183 junction and a small diversion put in place to allow a cleanup operation to take place.”
It was open again by 10.30am.