A SAFETY bar helped saved the lives of two elderly friends after the car they were travelling in collided with a container lorry near Stoneleigh.
Emergency services were called to the northbound carriageway of the A46 just before the Stoneleigh turning around 7.45pm on Sunday (February 21).
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews found a car that had suffered very severe front end damage, especially on the passenger side.
“The safety bar on the rear of the HGV trailer was badly bent but had held despite the collision.
“The elderly man driving the car had managed to get out and had suffered only minor injuries.
“He was taken to University Hospital in Coventry as a precaution.
“Unfortunately, the 89-year-old lady in the front passenger seat was trapped for just over an hour.
“Ambulance staff treated the woman while firefighters carefully removed the roof and door of the car to allow the woman to be freed.
“She was given pain relief and immobilised before being taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.”
