Tight red dress saves student's life in road accident

A tight red dress turned out to be a lifesaver for a young women from West Yorkshire after a cement mixer ploughed into her taxi after a night out.

Zoe Turner, 21, had been out with friends at her mother's Christmas work party at the Leeds United football ground last month.

The four pals left the bash just before 3am in a taxi and were travelling back to Wakefield in West Yorkshire when the accident happened.

Doctors later told Zoe that the figure-hugging dress prevented life-threatening injuries by stopping her bones popping out and perforating her vital organs.

Zoe said: "I couldn't believe my dress saved my life ... Although I didn't come off lightly, the end result could have been a lot worse.

"I was in unimaginable pain. My body was aching and I just remember thinking - I have to get my belt off. The pain and restriction my dress was causing was unbearable and I stumbled out of the car.

Zoe was sitting in the front passenger's seat wearing a safety belt when the truck hit, and suffered multiple injuries including a fractured pelvis, fractured vertebra and broken sternum.

Her three friends, who were not strapped in, survived with broken arms, eye sockets and pelvis. The taxi driver suffered a broken neck.

Firefighters arrived within five minutes and cut open the vehicle to free the injured passengers. Zoe was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary for a C.T. scan.

After five days in hospital, on Thursday 18th December, Zoe was released to go home just in time for Christmas.

Zoe said that convincing herself to get back in a car has been the hardest part in her road to recovery.

She said: "I am lucky to be alive, the thought of not having worn that dress makes me shudder."