A FIREFIGHTER who cut a dead drink-driver out of the wreckage of her smashed car has spoken of the horror of the incident and the dangers of mixing alcohol with getting behind the wheel.

Watch Manager Craig Gregory was speaking as part of Hampshire police's Don't Get Smashed anti drink-drive campaign for Christmas.

 

 

He said several of his colleagues had never dealt with a fatal crash before they had to cut the 23-year-old woman, who had been drinking, out of her car following the horrendous collision with a van in November last year.

Watch Manager Gregory said: “We assisted the police with the removal of the deceased person from the vehicle because the girl was quite trapped inside the vehicle, so we used our cutting get in order to help the police retrieve the body.

“Obviously for members of the fire service it is quite harrowing to deal with a dead person and also some of the crew I had that evening, it was the first time they had seen a fatality and been involved in a road traffic accident and fatality.

“You think about the consequences of this accident in particular, obviously a young girl died but also the knock-on effect for her family, but also the driver of the van, he had a severe accident and sustained some injuries, and in addition the members from the responding services - the police, ambulance and fire service - the memories they hold of that incident.”

The police campaign is running until New Year's Day and will see officers out in force on the roads.

The public is also being urged to text a dedicated number, 80999, to report anyone they suspect is drink-driving.

Officers arrested 17 people on suspicion of drink-driving in the first two days of the campaign that was launched at the beginning of the month.

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