American tourist survives 500ft plunge down Lake District ravine

An American tourist is extremely lucky to be alive after her car plunged 500ft down one of Britain's steepest passes in the Lake District.

Jane Lukic, 60, suffered cuts, bruising and a broken arm after he car tumbled down the ravine at Wrynose Pass in Cumbria.

She had been descending on a curve in her Mercedes when a tyre blew out, and she lost control, careering down the mountain pass, with her car flipping several times before it came to a halt on its side.

A 10-strong team spent three hours at the incident, and fire crews cut the roof off to allow paramedics to get to Mrs Lukic.

An RAF Sea King helicopter from Northumberland took her to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

She was released on Monday and Cumbria Fire and Rescue said she was "very fortunate."

Mrs Lukic was born in England and had returned for a holiday.

She told the Daily Mail: "I'm very, very beat up but I'm very fortunate.

"I was born in England and was very excited to come back. One of the first things I thought of was, "I came back to England to actually die in England?" and then I thought that was not an option.

"As I rolled I just breathed into it and tried to relax as much as possible."

She added: "I ended up being suspended from the seatbelt hanging upside down and felt glass break on to me."

Two hikers ran to her aid and comforted her while waiting for emergency services.

Jane, a music instructor from Wisconsin, had ben travelling to Yorkshire to visit friends when the accident happened.

According to the Express, Mrs Lukic's son, Noel Kegel, said: "A lifetime of gratitude and appreciation for the hiker, to the first responders, to the RAF chopper crew, to the doctors and everyone involved in this rescue effort.

"Mercedes earns a mention as well for designing a vehicle that can sustain so much damage and protect its precious cargo."

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