Elderly driver serious after crash

Three injured: The white Toyota sedan involved in last night’s accident with a truck on the Pacific Highway, just north of Woodburn.

Doug Eaton

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AN ELDERLY woman is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after her car veered into a truck near Woodburn last night.

She was driving the car with two other passengers southbound on the Pacific Highway, 3km north of Woodburn. Just after 5pm the car veered into an overtaking truck and rolled into a paddock.

The female driver suffered a cardiac arrest at the scene of the accident, but was revived by an off-duty doctor from the Gold Coast who was driving past and an Evans Head paramedic who was the first on the scene.

NSW Ambulance district manager Insp Greg Powell said the two passengers were also injured in the crash.

“Two people were transported to Lismore Base Hospital with minor injuries and are in a stable condition,” he said. “One elderly female patient was airlifted by the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter to hospital. She responded to treatment and arrived at hospital in a serious but stable condition.”

Local police, the NSW Fire Brigades and Woodburn SES also attended the crash.

Richmond Local Area Command duty officer Insp Paul Fredericks said investigations into the accident were continuing.

“It appears two trucks were in the overtaking lane heading south on the Pacific Highway north of Woodburn,” he said.

“The second truck seems to have passed a white Toyota sedan and it appears the car veered into the truck and then rolled into a paddock.”