A WOMAN in her 50s has been seriously injured after a collision with a fire engine.

Cowley Road has been closed in both directions following the accident between Shelley Road and Howard Street.

Police spokeswoman Lucy Billen said: “We were called at 3.50pm to Cowley Road to a collision between a fire engine and a pedestrian.

"The woman, believed to be in her 50s, is seriously injured. An air ambulance has landed.”

Fiona Tapp, from Littlemore, was visiting the vet on the corner of Howard Street and Cowley Road when the fire engine came past.

Miss Tapp, who works in customer services, said: “I was sitting in my car when the fire engine came past and it had its sirens blaring.

“When I came out of the vets I saw the road had been closed off and I asked a bus driver what had happened – he told me it had been quite bad.

“The ambulance staff got there very quickly.”

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith said the fire engine, based at Rewley Road, Oxford, was called out at about 3.40pm to an emergency on the Blackbird Leys estate.

The emergency was not a fire, according to Mr Smith, but he could not provide further details at this stage.

He said the fire crew alerted their control following the accident, which then notified South Central Ambulance service.

Mr Smith added: “There were four firefighters in the fire engine and they gave first aid to the woman before the ambulance arrived.

“None of the firefighters were injured.”

Mr Smith was unable to say how fast the fire engine was travelling at the time of the collision or if its sirens were on at the time.

South Central Ambulance spokeswoman Michelle Archer said: “We were called at 3.46pm to reports of a road traffic collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian.

“We sent two vehicle crews, two ambulance officers, an emergency care practitioner and the Thames Valley and Chiltern air ambulance.

“The female patient was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital by land ambulance with potentially life threatening injuries.”

Diversions have been put in place and police said at about 5.15pm the road could be closed for about 90 minutes.

 


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