A WOMAN is lucky to be alive after a crash caused her car to flip onto its side and crush its roof.

Sophie Austin miraculously escaped the horrific crash on Lower Dunton Road, in Langdon Hills, with cuts, bruises and full body whiplash.

The 25-year-old was driving down the road when another car pulled out from the junction with Old Church Hill, without seeing her and the car in front of her.

She was forced to swerve and brake, but the right front headlight on her Renault Clio made contact with the other car causing her to flip and roll.

The car travelled on its side down the road and destroyed a garden wall, with Sophie still suspended inside. The sun roof also smashed, meaning the car began to bend in on itself.

Miss Austin said: “I thought it was going to be one of those where I braked hard and it would be a near miss. I saw the driver hadn’t turned her head, I realised she hadn’t seen me.

“When it rolled the sound was just horrific. When the car stopped I was left suspended at a 90 degree angle, and the car started to fold in half.

“If I had been a couple more inches to the left, I may have lost my life.

“A man who rushed to help me supported me and kept me in the car, he put himself in danger to help me. The woman who pulled out in front of me also came to help, she was ripping the windscreen out. The paramedics turned up about 9.30am. They told me that they didn’t expect anyone to come out of there when they first saw it.”

Essex Police confirmed the driver of the other car, a 56-year-old woman has been reported for careless driving following the incident, on August 21, and has been put forward for an awareness course.

Miss Austin, who lives in Daniel Close, Thurrock, is now recovering at home from the whiplash, but is still appealing for witnesses of the incident.

She added: “It was incredibly surreal to look at the damage to realise I was inside it, and how close I was to death.”

Anyone who saw the crash can contact Miss Austin at facebook.com/soph.austin.9.