A TEENAGER is critically ill after being involved in a police chase in St Mary Cray on her 18th birthday.

The woman, who was wearing a birthday badge, had to be cut out of the car she was travelling in after it crashed outside Watts Farms in East Hall Road at around 2am this morning.

The car is thought to have rolled over several times before coming to a stop in the country lane.

Firefighters used cutting equipment to free the passenger from the red Peugeot.

Keith Holt, of Hart Dyke Road, Swanley, was about to start his night shift at the farm when he saw the crash.

He said: “The sirens started getting louder and louder, then the next minute the car that they (the police) were chasing came towards me and struck the tree.

“It bounced off, went along the bank and rolled over and over.

“I couldn’t believe what was going on.”

The 41-year-old added: “Surprised wasn't the word.

“It shook me up.

“Where the car landed must have been about 10 feet from where I was standing, I could have been hit.

“I had a lucky escape in the crash.”

The victim was taken to King’s College Hospital by ambulance suffering from back injuries with her condition being described as critical by a London Fire Brigade spokesman.

The driver of the vehicle, who is thought to be a 16-year-old boy, fled the scene and was found by police dogs in a nearby field.

His other passenger managed to get out of the car herself and was also taken to Kings College Hospital.

It is not yet known why the vehicle was being chased by the police.

Officers were still at the crash scene when firefighters left at around 4am.

Police confirmed the car’s driver was arrested and two passengers were both taken to hospital.

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