Four people miraculously walked away from a shocking accident yesterday that left a garbage truck overturned and three vehicles extensively damaged.

According to a Police spokesman, the truck was travelling east on Middle Road, near Barnes Corner, in Southampton, when it appeared to blow a front tyre, sending the vehicle careening into traffic.

The truck collided with three vehicles in the westbound lane, shattering the windows of one car, flattening a second car and pinning a black jeep in the bushes.

Divisional Officer for the Bermuda Fire Service, Dana Lovell, said: "We got a call at around 2.40 p.m. and we were on the scene around four minutes later. What we found was a four-vehicle road traffic collision."

While two of the three people in the Works and Engineering truck were able to climb out, the truck's driver, a 37-year-old man, was trapped in the cabin for 30 minutes and was taken to hospital with neck and back injuries and later discharged. Three other people involved, including the driver of the flattened car, were taken to hospital for evaluation only.

Police Spokesman Dwayne Caines praised the fire rescue officers who worked in the pouring rain to free the trapped driver, saying: "This is just another example of the courageous work that they do."

A Works and Engineering employee watching the rescue said: "Those trucks are so heavy, when a tyre blows there's nothing you can do. If there was a motorcycle there, they would have been crushed."

Police diverted traffic away from the area for three hours as the damaged vehicles were moved from the scene.

Were you involved in the incident ? E-mail us at news@royalgazette.bm