A young driver was trapped in the wreckage of her car as it flooded with water after plunging into a ditch.
Kirsty McNeill said last night she was lucky to escape with just torn neck muscles after her red Vauxhall Astra GTC careered down an embankment and landed on its side.
At one point she could feel water lapping around her chest – and she was worried the vehicle’s airbag would go off in her face.
The accident happened when the 20-year-old was taken ill at the wheel.
The office worker said she was thankful another motorist was right behind her when she crashed – because the car landed out of sight of the road and the wreckage could have gone unnoticed until it was too late.
She said: “The water rose right up from my feet up to my chest while I was stuck in there waiting to be rescued.
“It was all pretty scary.”
Miss McNeill said she was grateful to fellow motorist Naomi Campbell, 30, who was travelling behind her at the time and rushed to her aid after her Astra veered off the road.
She added: “I’m not really too sure what happened.
“I felt not too well while driving. I don’t remember much before being in the ditch.
“I was lucky that Naomi saw me going into the ditch. She was the first person to see me and flagged down a passing car driven by an off-duty ambulance man.
“He climbed down to me and told me not to move as I had central neck pain.
“Naomi was great – she got in the car with me and kept me calm.
“It was pretty scary – and cold and smelly.
“My car alarm was going off and the windscreen wipers were going crazy because of the water. I was scared that the airbag was going to go off but the firemen put something over it to stop it when they arrived.”
The accident happened on the A816 Oban-Lochgilphead road near Cairnbaan.
Miss McNeill, who works for Argyll and Bute Council at Lochgilphead, was given an X-ray and kept in hospital for about four hours following Tuesday’s crash.
Last night she said: “I’m all good now, apart from torn muscles in my neck, I’m very lucky to be ok.”
Ambulance controllers alerted the fire service and a unit was sent from Lochgilphead community fire station.
Firefighters reached the scene 10 minutes later and used hydraulic cutting equipment to free Miss McNeill.
Station manager Brian McGuire, the incident commander, said: “Our crew found the car in the roadside ditch, partially submerged in water.
“The impact with the embankment had left the driver trapped inside and firefighters immediately stabilised the vehicle and formulated an extrication plan.
“An off-duty paramedic assisted our crew in attending to the casualty while an ambulance was en route.
“When it arrived the extrication plan was put into effect and the casualty safely released and taken to Mid Argyll Community Hospital.”
A police spokesman said: “There was only one vehicle involved. The woman driver sustained minor injuries. No report will go to the procurator fiscal.”