Crews Rescue NH Woman Trapped In Car For 10 Hours Overnight
EPPING, New Hampshire (CBS) -- Fire crews rescued a woman in her early 70s who became trapped in her car overnight after it rolled off the road.
Epping Fire Department Lt. Paul Hanley told WBZ-TV that the car driven by Janis Cathcart of Somersworth went off the side of Route 27 near the Brentwood town line around 10 p.m. Monday night.
Lt. Hanley added the wheel of Cathcart's vehicle caught the soft shoulder and sent it off the roadway.
Because the car fell down a slight embankment 20-25 feet off the road and was all black, Lt. Hanley said, it was difficult to see in the dark.
As a result, the woman wasn't found until around 6:30 Tuesday morning.
"She couldn't find her cell phone, knew she had to do something. So she got out of the safety belt, crawled into the back seat where she had a bunch of clothes and put those clothes on to keep warm," according to Lt. Hanley.
Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to remove her from the vehicle.
They said she was conscious and alert at the time, and was taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital Trauma Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. At last report, she was listed in stable condition.