(Reuters) – Spanish Formula One test driver Maria De Villota was taken to hospital after her car hit a parked truck at an airfield in eastern England, her Marussia team said on Tuesday.
Marussia said in a statement that De Villota, who was testing the car for the first time, was injured in an accident at Duxford Airfield after completing an installation run at around 04:10 a.m. EDT (0810 GMT).
“Maria has been transferred to hospital. Once her medical condition has been assessed a further statement will be issued,” the team added.
BBC Cambridgeshire presenter Chris Mann, who was at the Imperial War Museum-owned airfield when the accident happened, said the car “inexplicably accelerated” into the back of the team’s parked support truck.
“The driver’s helmet was impacted on the side of the truck,” he reported. “It just happened suddenly, a very shocking incident.
“The car slowed down as you see happens during a grand prix, for it to then be reversed into the pits which was actually a tent. But at the last second it just suddenly accelerated again so by the time it hit the truck, it was doing 30 or 40 miles an hour.”
Mann said De Villota, 32, was trapped in the car for a considerable time with emergency services attending her immediately.
“It appeared to me that she wasn’t moving for about 10 or 15 minutes. We saw her move her hands after about a quarter of an hour and it took almost an hour for the ambulance (staff) to feel confident to take her out of the car.”
The driver is the daughter of former F1 racer Emilio De Villota.
She was appointed test driver of Russian-licensed Marussia in March, making her the only woman in such a role at the time. She has raced in various series and tried out a Renault Formula One car last August.
Marussia’s race regulars are German driver Timo Glock, who missed the last race in Valencia through illness, and Frenchman Charles Pic.
The team have no reserve driver and De Villota lacks the necessary super-licence for the role.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)