A DRIVER had to be cut free from his wrecked car and rushed to hospital after getting trapped under a lorry.
The 40-year-old was driving near Bathgate, West Lothian, when his Peugot 206 collided with a goods vehicle.
He was cut free by firefighters just outside the town’s Whitehill Industrial Estate just after 6am yesterday.
A specialist surgical ambulance with two paramedics and a doctor rushed the casualty to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a police escort.
The driver of the lorry is understood to be unharmed but the road was closed off to morning rush hour traffic to let emergency workers clear debris off the road.
It is unknown what caused the collision but weather conditions was recorded as being as low as -5C with freezing fog.
A Scottish Ambulance spokeswoman said: “We were called at 6.03am to an incident involving a car and a lorry and the car was trapped.
“Specialist ambulance Medic 1 was in attendance and the casualty was extracated and taken to hospital.
“The extent of his injuries at this stage are unknown.”
A Lothian and Borders Fire Service spokeswoman said: “We were called to a road traffic collision on Blackburn Road near Bathgate involving an LGV and a private car.
“The 40-year-old male car driver was trapped and was freed using specialist cutting equipment.
“The man was conscious and breathing when we arrived and an ambulance with a doctor took him to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a police escort.”
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “We were called to an RTC involving a lorry and Peugeot 206.
“The road is currently closed in order to clear the scene.”
