Fire crews kept busy with spate of Black Country crashes
Six people were injured during a spate of crashes on roads in the Black Country that saw cars collide head-on and drivers having to be cut free from their vehicles.
Firefighters said it was one of their busiest weekends on the region's roads in years as they were called out to accidents in West Bromwich, Tipton, Wolverhampton and Coseley.
In one a Mini ploughed into a parked transit van last night and leading to a woman being arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
Residents rushed to help in Upper Ettingshall Road in Coseley at about 9.25pm after hearing the crash. Flames were spreading from underneath the Mini, which had a badly damaged front bumper and bonnet, and neighbours ran out with buckets of water to put out the fire.
Watch commander Andy Rainey, of Bilston Fire Station, said: "People who saw the crash had to try and put the fire out before we got there. The Mini was quite badly damaged and we think the transit van was a write-off."
West Midlands Police spokeswoman Gina Lycett said an 18-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drink driving at about 10pm and remained in custody today.
Three passengers, thought to be aged 18 or 19, were taken to hospital following the smash. One woman had neck and back injuries, while another had whiplash, and a man had back injuries and a broken ankle.
Firefighters had to spend an hour searching for the female passenger with whiplash after witnesses said she was injured but had left the scene. They ended up being directed to her house nearby and she was later sent to hospital.
In another of the weekend's crashes, a woman was cut free from a car after a crash involving five vehicles in Wolverhampton.
The passenger, who was in her 50s, was rescued from a Ford Fiesta by fire crews who removed its roof.
It happened on Wolverhampton Road East, Parkfields at about 12.30pm yesterday. She was suffering back pain.
Firefighters said a Honda and Audi A1 were among the other vehicles involved.
Crew commander Steve Cartwright, of Bilston Fire Station, said: "The woman was complaining of being in pain so we helped her out. None of the cars were badly damaged – it was mainly bumps." He said there had been an initial crash involving the Fiesta and then the other vehicles had ended up colliding after hitting the cars involved.
A motorist was also cut free from her car after a crash in West Bromwich High Street.
Firefighters used cutting equipment to remove the roof of the car to enable paramedics to treat the woman.
She was taken to hospital with suspected spine and head injuries. The crash happened at around 5.30pm yesterday.
Police diverted traffic away from High Street while firefighters were at the scene.
And fire crews from Bilston also attended a head-on crash in Owen Street, Tipton, involving a BMW and Land Rover at 6.45pm yesterday. Mr Rainey added the male driver of the Land
Rover had claimed there had been a mechanical fault in the vehicle's steering. Mr Rainey said: "Something happened with the steering and he lost control. The cars had hit each other more or less head-on – it smashed the axles on both cars.
"We mainly had to make the vehicle safe as there weren't any serious injuries."
A woman passenger in the BMW was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Mr Rainey said it had been one of the busiest weekends for crashes that he had worked on in years. He added: "It's unusual to get this many that are this serious in such a short period. I don't know what the reason is or whether it's just a coincidence."
