By Martin Graham
A WOMAN had to be cut free by rescuers yesterday after she was trapped in her car following a crash with a van
Emergency services staff had to cut the roof off the car in order to safely remove the 45-year-old so her injuries could be treated.
The woman was trapped for an hour as firefighters tried to free her.
Paramedics treated the woman for back injuries at the scene then she was taken by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The accident happened at around 11.30am on Lindsay Road in Edinburgh’s waterfront Newhaven area.
Sources said the woman was driving her red Ford Focus when she was rear-ended by the van.
The driver of the van, a 52-year-old male, was treated for suspected spinal cord injuries and was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
An employee of Alien Rock climbing centre who did not wish to be named said: “I didn’t know anything had happened until the ambulances and police came.
“I went outside to look and saw the car which had crashed, but I didn’t see a van.
“There were some onlookers who clearly knew the woman who was trapped.
“I gave them some chairs to sit on while they waited, they were very shaken up by the experience.
“I didn’t want to stick around and rubberneck so I just came back inside the centre.”
