Australian survives six-story car-park plunge
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A woman miraculously survived on Monday after her car plunged six stories from the top of a car park in Melbourne and became wedged between two buildings.
The driver, 41, was freed 40 minutes after her vehicle fell an estimated 30 metres (100 feet) and became stuck at ground level in a lane between the walls of the car park and another building.
"The site was terrible. Just looking at it now, I'm not sure how the lady got out at all," witness Michael Rockefeller told reporters at the scene.
"It sounded like a truck was crashing. The noise went on for five or six seconds. It was followed by a loud bang at the end."
The woman suffered deep cuts to her head and possible spinal injuries and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police were trying to determine how the car crashed through a steel beam and a wire barrier in the car park.
Paramedics said the seatbelt saved the woman's life, preventing her slipping into the passenger side of the car which took the full force of the impact.
"I think a lot of things contributed to keeping her alive today, the airbags, the seatbelt ... luck," said paramedic Matthew Riddle.
"It's pretty amazing she's still alive."
He added that the freak accident meant the woman's injuries were unique.
"It's different in a high-speed crash. The force comes from one direction but it looks like this car has hit a few buildings on the way down so she's been struck from a few angles," he said.
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