Woman survives outback ordeal

A toyota Echo???

Woman survives outback ordeal
May 15, 2007 - 5:22PM

A woman has survived a day-and-a-half trapped in her car after it rolled on a remote stretch of outback highway in the Northern Territory.

Police said the 36-year-old woman was lucky to be alive following the accident about 150 km north of Tennant Creek near Renner Springs on Friday night.

It is believed the vehicle rolled several times as it ran off the Stuart Highway into nearby scrub after the woman fell asleep at the wheel.

She was trapped in the wrecked Toyota Echo unable to move, with no food or water, until a tourist discovered her on Sunday morning.

The man noticed the car about 30 metres from the side of the road and contacted police after discovering the woman inside the vehicle, police said.

When police arrived she was conscious and in a stable condition and was taken to Tennant Creek Hospital.

Police spokesman Nathan Finn said the woman was lucky to be alive.

"The car actually didn't require jaws of life. The car was that badly damaged that the roof just peeled off by hand," he told ABC Radio.

The woman was later airlifted to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing.

AAP