LOUISE Aitken-Walker returned to her Berwickshire home last night
after surviving a horrifying Portuguese Rally accident in which her car
plunged down a ravine into a lake. Both Louise and Swedish co-driver,
Christina Thorner, fought their way out of the sunken car and swam to
safety.
The Scots woman's husband Graham said he was ''absolutely delighted''
that the Vauxhall Astra GTE crew had emerged safe although bruised and
shaken. Graham, a former top rally mechanic added: ''It was a very scary
accident, but Louise was not driving flat out at the time.''
Britain's, and arguably the top international woman rally driver, spun
off a mountain stage on Wednesday in soaking conditions during the
second leg of the world series rally where she was defending her women's
cup world championship lead.
The car rolled down the ravine and plunged into the lake, coming to
rest 30 feet below the surface. Louise, a strong swimmer, said: ''The
car was full of water before it reached the bottom. We got out through a
broken window and started to swim. It seemed an eternity before we got
to the surface.''
Both women clung to a rock until spectators climbed down to rescue
them. A doctor was on the scene within minutes and organised a
helicopter to lift the Vauxhall crew to hospital for a check-up. Early
reports that Louise had broken her jaw proved unfounded but she suffered
shoulder bruising when the rally harness absorbed the impact.
Because Louise was the only woman driver to score points in the Monte
Carlo Rally, her Italian rival, Paulo De Martini, can only draw level if
she finishes in the first 20. The Scottish driver's next event is the
Corsican Rally on May 4.
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