Tragically the victim, who was aged in her 50s, lost her fight for survival in hospital following the incredible intervention by medics.
The unnamed woman was left critically injured following a smash on the A19 near Seaham, County Durham, when her car collided with a coach on a slip road.
She was cut free from the crushed wreckage of the Vauxhall Corsa before medics performed the astonishing roadside operation in the “golden 40 minutes” they had to try and save her.
NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE
A doctor performed open-heart surgery at the side of the road after horror car crash
Durham Police, the fire service, six ambulances and the Great North Air Ambulance sped to the scene.
A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS) said: “We were called to a crash on the A19 near Seaham. Our doctor-led trauma team performed open heart surgery on a female.”
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said the woman was taken by ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE
The woman was left critically injured when her car collided with a coach on a slip road
The driver of the coach, which was not carrying passengers at the time, was shaken but uninjured.
A witness, writing on Facebook, wrote earlier: “Massive accident on the A19 slip road to Ryhope, air ambulance, police, three fire engines. Avoid the road, traffic backed up for miles. Hope everyone involved is ok.”
County Durham Fire and Rescue, @CDDFRS, tweeted: “A coach has gone in to a car.”
A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service tweeted at 1pm: “We’ve taken 1 person to hospital and treated 1 on scene.”
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