Schoolgirl rushes to help elderly driver after crash

Hannah Sawyer-Kerr, 16, of Powdermill Brae, Gorebridge, was opening her front gate when the crash occurred yards from where she stood.

The quick-thinking Dalkeith High School pupil wasted no time in dialling 999 before rushing to reassure the driver.

She also shouted for her mother, Angela Sawyer-Kerr, who rushed out to see smoke pouring from the car’s engine.

Hannah then stayed on the line with the 999 operator, reassuring the trapped driver that help was on the way.

She said: “I really couldn’t believe it. Just as I opened the gate I heard a loud crash and saw the car smash through the wall.

“Straight away I dialled 999 and asked for an ambulance. They told me that in no way should anyone attempt to move the driver and that I should try and reassure him and keep him calm.

“He had a lot of blood on his face and grazes on his head and his legs were trapped in the car. It’s not really what you expect to see at your gate as you leave for school.”

Emergency services raced to the scene just after 8am on Tuesday and firefighters from Liberton and Dalkeith used hydraulic cutting equipment to cut the elderly driver free from the mangled wreckage.

He was then taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Proud mum Angela has told how impressed everyone at the scene was by her daughter’s cool-headed actions.

She said: “Although she’s only 16, she kept calm throughout even as everyone else was getting a bit panicky. I’m really proud of her, all the neighbours have remarked how impressed they were at her ability to stay cool in an emergency.”

The incident has also led Hannah to consider a possible career in the police force.

She added: “I was surprised by how I reacted in the circumstances, I’d never have thought that I’d be so cool and calm. It’s definitely made me think of joining the police one day. Really I’m just glad that the driver wasn’t too badly injured though.”