A 70-year-old woman escaped a harrowing crash with minor injuries Wednesday evening when her car left Sooke Road and landed upside down in a water-filled ditch.
Just before 6 p.m., a motorist called 911 to report a car had left Sooke Road near Humpback Road and went down an embankment.
“We found a single vehicle upside down on a drainage ditch,” said Capt. Chris Aubrey of Langford Volunteer Fire Department.
She was relatively uninjured but trapped inside her Toyota Echo because the vehicle was crushed. Water flooded the overturned vehicle and reached the top of the car seats, Aubrey said.
B.C. Ambulance paramedics assessed the woman’s condition and found she was becoming hypothermic.
About 15 volunteer firefighters worked for over 30 minutes to free the woman, Aubrey said.
“She was fairly calm and definitely a trooper,” said Aubrey.
While arrangements were being made to put mechanical jaws to use, one of the fightfighters who is a nurse stayed with the woman down below, said Aubrey.
The vehicle was on its roof and against some rocks. One side was inaccessible due to the water, said Aubrey, “so we were trying to use the high side.”
They were unable to rescue her through the back window because she couldn’t move there due to the crumpled roof.
“We got to the driver’s side door and popped that open, and it was just enough to get her out,” Aubrey said.
“Our guys were in the water cutting her out, so they worked very hard and I’m proud of them on their effort to get her out.”
It’s unclear why the woman’s car left the road.
Conditions didn’t appear to be a problem, said Aubrey.
West Shore RCMP are investigating.
