Colin Montgomerie escapes from BMW crash
GOLF star Colin Montgomerie was pulled from his wrecked BMW yesterday after a four-vehicle crash.
The Ryder Cup captain emerged “terribly shocked” from his battered car following the collision thought to have involved a lorry, a van and another car.
Montgomerie, 47, and the other drivers were treated for minor injuries by paramedics at the scene on the A80 in Lanarkshire near Glasgow but did not need hospital treatment.
He said later in a statement: “I was trapped as the side of the car was compressed and the air bags were holding me back.
“But the passenger door suddenly opened and I was pulled to safety thanks to other drivers who had witnessed the accident.
“It was a terrible shock and I am lucky to have come out of it relatively unscathed, thanks I am sure to the car I was driving.”
Montgomerie’s silver BMW was so severely damaged that a rear wheel buckled and became disjointed from the vehicle. The driver’s side was crumpled and the fuel cap was ripped off.
The pile-up happened near Cumbernauld on a 40mph average speed limit contraflow system.
The van involved in the collision was seen abandoned just yards away on the hard shoulder with the driver’s front panel badly damaged.
A police spokeswoman said later that the van driver had been charged with traffic offences. One motorist said: “Both the BMW driver and the van had been very lucky to escape serious harm.”
Montgomerie, who recently captained the European team to victory over the United States, was on his way to Inverness to start a charity walk for the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation, named after his mother, who died of lung cancer.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “There were three or four casualties who were treated at the scene but did not require to be transported to hospital. They were allowed to go on their way.”
Monty’s great BMW escape
The crumpled silver BMW in which Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, right, was trapped yesterday. He was pulled clear by another motorist
WSPAromania25x4:WSPA Romania 25x4 29/4/10 11:09 Page 2