Teen driver thrown 20ft downhill into tree after car hits pothole
A teenage driver cheated death when her car careered 20ft downhill and into a tree - after hitting a pothole on the road in Gloucester.
Christie Councer, 19, was on her way to college when she lost control of her car and ended up crashing through a fence and into a tree, before being stopped by a hedge.
The teenager's car hit two potholes, around 40cm long and 10cm wide, whilst driving on the A4173 in Gloucester.
She was left with fragments of glass on her face and in her head, and had to pay over £500 for a new car after her Ford Ka was written off.
The trainee hairdresser is now calling on Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to repair potholes on stretches of road which are known to be dangerous.
Christie was travelling from her home in Stroud to Gloucester College when the incident, which sent her car spinning out of control, occurred near to the junction with Styles Lane at around 10am on Monday, January 27.
Christie said she only spotted the pothole at the last minute and tried to steer around it but her actions caused her Ford KA to career across the road and into the opposite lane.
She told the Gloucester Citizen: "I was on my way to college at about 10am last monday. I hit a pothole when I was doing about 35 or 40mph – which is well under the recommended speed limit there.
"I lost control of the car. I didn't know what to do so I ended up on the other side of the road.
"Then I went through a fence and into a tree. I would have gone further but I went into a hedge which stopped me."
According to the Daily Mail, she added: "At some point during all of this my air bags deployed, I'm not sure when though.
"I was really scared. I looked for my phone to call 999 but I couldn't find it and I started to panic."
Some men ran to help and called 999, and Christie was fitted with a neck brace and taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
She escaped with cuts and bruises but said she is lucky to be alive.
Miss Councer said the only warning was a circle of faded white paint around the potholes, and added there should have been a sign or something more to warn drivers.
A GCC spokesman told the Stroud News And Journal: "Our sympathies are with the driver involved in this accident. Our busiest roads like the A4173 are inspected at least every month and across the county our priority is to fix unsafe potholes immediately, while smaller potholes are programmed to be repaired within 28 days – in line with the national guidelines."
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