COUNTY NEWS: Car rolls onto railway tracks after woman collapses

The driver was taken by ambulance to hospital

It was the cause of today’s previously reported ‘medical emergency’ in Chichester which caused major traffic delays as bystanders tried to push the vehicle to safety.

Richard Airey, spokesperson for South East Coast Ambulance Service, said they were contacted at 7.55am with reports of a car that had rolled onto the railway tracks at the Stockbridge Road level crossing near Chichester railway station.

They sent two cars and an ambulance, which quickly arrived at the scene.

The ambulance service added that before they arrived, bystanders had attempted to push the vehicle off of the tracks and to safety.

When they arrived, paramedics reported that the woman wasn’t fully conscious and had collapsed at the wheel, causing her automatic car to jolt forward and hit a post.

There were no injuries reported due to this, the spokesperson added, but the woman was assessed at the scene and taken to St Richard’s Hospital for medical checks.

Mr Airey said: “We would like to thank everyone for their help and their quick thinking in the moments before we arrived.”

Sussex Police also issued a statement about the incident. It said: “At 7.56am on Wednesday (3 August) police were alerted to an incident on the level crossing in Stockbridge Road, Chichester, in which a car and a van had collided.

“The car, a Toyota Aygo, was reported to have gone onto the tracks and emergency action was taken by the signalman to stop trains proceeding and to shut off the 750-volt current to conductor rails while the scene was cleared.

“The car was removed from the tracks and the car driver, an elderly woman, received attention for a possible medical episode.

“No one else was injured but the incident caused traffic delays.

“British Transport Police is now investigating.”

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