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| A tragic accident saw a VW Golf plough into the front of an ambulance, killing the Golf's male driver instantly |
A horrific car crash between a car and an ambulance left one man dead and four others injured on the A49 in Shropshire yesterday.
The collision happened when a black H-reg Volkswagen Golf careered into the front of the ambulance, which was carrying a 29-year-old woman who had been in an earlier car accident.
The force of the impact almost tore the bonnet off the emergency vehicle while the Golf was left embedded in its front.
The Golf's driver, a man in his 20s, was killed instantly while the ambulance driver was trapped inside the crushed vehicle for two hours.
She was cut free by firefighters and airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with serious injuries to her head, leg and pelvis, where her condition is said to be 'comfortable'.
A woman in her 20s, the Golf's passenger, had to be cut out of the car and was airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire with serious head and chest injuries.
She is said to be in a 'critical but stable' condition.
A female paramedic travelling in the back of the ambulance suffered a wrist injury and was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Investigators suggested the Golf crossed into the ambulance's path at the scene near Wem, Shropshire.
The ambulance was not making an emergency journey and did not have its siren or blue lights on.
Steve Parry, from West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “Crews arrived on scene to find a car and ambulance had been in collision.
'Despite the best efforts of ambulance staff, the driver of the car was confirmed dead at the scene.
'At the time of the collision, the ambulance was taking a female patient injured in an earlier road traffic incident to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.'
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: 'A full investigation is being carried out to establish the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.
'We are appealing for witnesses to come forward if they saw either the collision or the vehicles involved being driven immediately beforehand.'
The main A49 road north of Shrewsbury was closed until just before 10pm last night while emergency services attended the scene.
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