Trapped in a crumpled car, a 70-year-old woman was freed last night by 14 Langford firefighters.
She was travelling north on Sooke Road, Jan. 2 and ended up 4.5 metres down an embankment upside-down in water.
"The roof was crumpled and the doors had buckled," said Capt. Chris Aubrey of Langford Fire Rescue.
B.C. Ambulance arrived on scene first and spoke to the lone occupant. She had undone her seat belt, but was left kneeling in water inside the car.
"She was relatively uninjured but she was very cold," Aubrey explained, adding she was brought to, and subsequently released from, hospital.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extricate the woman. Firefighter Jennifer Zado, who is also a nurse, stayed by the woman's side while firefighters cut her out of the car. "She explained what we were doing. It's loud and it's scary when you are in the car," said Aubrey.
Firefighters faced challenges due to the water and location of the vehicle. Two ladders were laid out over the ditch to act as a bridge for the crews.
"Most of our guys have never seen this type of situation before," said Aubrey. "This was the worst case of worst case scenarios as far as access goes."
Road conditions were clear at the time of the crash.