The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Woman relives ‘rollercoaster’ horror smash
Emergency services thanked after two-car collision on A9
A WOMAN involved in a horror crash on a busy north road said she felt like she was in a rollercoaster as her car tumbled through the air.
Aimee Preston had to be cut free from the wreckage of her vehicle after she and her fiance Luke Shepherd were involved in a collision with another car on the A9 near the Skiach Services junction.
The pair were stuck upside down inside the car which rolled over and was sent spinning on its roof for around 50 yards after the crash.
Mr Shepherd, 30, was helped free but Miss Preston, 28, was trapped in the passenger side and was having difficulty breathing. She said: “I just remember thinking to myself that it was like being in a rollercoaster that went upside down for the first time and you were counting the seconds until it stopped. Once we stopped rolling we then were stuck upside down but spinning like on a roundabout at a play park.”
Miss Preston now wants to thank the emergency services as well as an off-duty GP who arrived and helped.
She added: “It’s people like her that show the best in humanity and how underrated our GPs are.”
Awoman who was trapped in a car after a serious road crash at an accident blackspot paid tribute to the emergency teams and an off-duty GP who helped her.
Aimee Preston and fiance Luke Shepherd were driving home to Dornoch from Dingwall on the A9 when they were involved in a collision with another car near the Skiach services junction.
Aimee had to be cut free from the wreckage.
A 40-year-old man was reported to the procurator fiscal following the incident earlier this month.
The pair were stuck upside down inside the car, which rolled over and went spinning on its roof for around 50 yards.
Mr Shepherd, 30, was helped free but Miss Preston, 28, was trapped and having difficulty breathing.
She said: “Once we stopped rolling we then were stuck upside down but spinning like on a roundabout at a playpark. When it all stopped I remember not being able to breathe properly and shouting for Luke.
“He stayed so calm and I said ‘please get me down, I can’t breathe’. Luke had to release me from my seat belt due to it causing me breathing difficulties. The next thing was that I just couldn’t move and I couldn’t understand why.
“There was glass everywhere, on my face in my head and hair and for the next 46 minutes it was a very dark place to be.”
Passing drivers helped Mr Shepherd out of the car unhurt but were unable to move Miss Preston.
“Due to where I was stuck in the car it was too difficult to move me in case of a shattered or broken pelvis or neck,” she said.
“I was in so much pain at the time I was just crying and screaming to get me out of the car.”
Miss Preston said a driver they now know as Ali was one of the first on the scene and helped Mr Shepherd from the vehicle. “He was fantastic. He helped keep Luke calm and was reassuring both of us.”
She said an off-duty GP then arrived and helped.
She has since tracked down the GP to thank her, but the woman asked not to be named, saying she was just doing her job.
“I hope she reads this and knows that she got me through those 46 minutes of being stuck in that car. She kept me so calm and I can’t thank her enough for what she did. It’s people like her that show the best in humanity and how underrated our GPs are.”
She also praised the “amazing” firefighters who cut her out of the car.
“The whole fire crew helped me get out and helped me try to stay focused and calm,” she said. “One fire crew lady in particular, who was inside the car with me as they lifted me out, kept me smiling.”
Miss Preston was treated at Raigmore Hospital for severe bruising to the abdomen and hip, a badly bruised hand and foot, concussion and head cuts.
“The paramedic crew in the ambulance were so kind and reassuring and just what I needed at that moment,” she said.
She added: “This isn’t about myself and Luke, although we would like to highlight that the A9 is a dangerous road. We want instead to focus on this list of amazing people.
“The off-duty GP who didn’t hesitate to sit with me while I was stuck in the car... The fire brigade crew who do their job, not just to the high standard that they do, but go the extra mile to make you feel safe while they carry out their dangerous jobs...
“The paramedics who are there to let you know it’s going to be OK and to keep you safe while you get on the road to A&E...
“And for the A&E team who did the scans and everything that to them is their everyday job, but to me it meant the world.”
Work to improve safety at the junction started last year.