Man 'lucky to be alive' after flipping car on busy Stourbridge road

A car ended up on its side after the driver crashed through a lamppost and knocked a post box out of the ground in Hagley Road.

Emergency services swamped the scene – near the junction with Union Street – just after 2pm and found a man in his 60s inside the overturned vehicle.

But miraculously, the driver was able to climb out of the car.

An ambulance service spokesman said the man escaped serious harm, but was suffering from chest pain and a head injury.

Watch Commander Dave Smith, from Stourbridge Fire Station, told the News: “We don’t know for sure what happened yet as we’ve not been able to speak to the driver.

“We believe he blacked out as there were no tyre marks on the road to indicate he slowed down.

“When we got here the car was on its side and we were able to get the man out using a ladder as there was a lot of fuel was leaking. With the help of a few members of the public we were able to get the driver out of the widow.

“It was quite an unusual way of dealing with an RTC [road traffic collision].”

The driver of the car, who was the only person involved in the crash, underwent treatment from West Midlands Ambulance Service at the scene.

Watch Commander Smith added: “The car’s airbags went off and I think hitting the lamppost would have softened the blow of the post box.

“He is very lucky to have been able to get out. It could have been much worse.

“There was also a person who was delivering post at the time, but luckily they were able to get away before the post box was hit.”

The incident completely blocked Hagley Road and left motorists having to make u-turns in both directions while emergency services were at the scene.