An 81-year-old Massachusetts woman spent hours trapped beneath her car in the rain before her husband came home and heard her calling for help. A cab had dropped him off outside their Hingham home on Friday night.
Peggy Wilbur was pinned against a rock wall after the car rolled while left in neutral, according to Hingham Firefighters Local 2398. Members responded to the home on Lincoln Street at about 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 6.
Her husband, Norman Wilbur, told WHDH she had been stuck for four hours. Even after he heard her voice, the car’s position made it hard to see her.
Before returning home, Norman had been waiting for Peggy to pick him up. A Hingham Fire and Emergency Management spokesperson told PEOPLE that he did not know why she had not arrived.
A Voice Outside
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“I walked around, and I heard, ‘Help. Help.’ I said… ‘Peggy, is that you?’” Norman told WHDH in a report carried by Western Mass News. “And I looked. I couldn’t even see her because the car was up against it.”
Norman called 911 as soon as he realized what had happened. Firefighters arrived within minutes, the WHDH report said.
He believes the car door gave his wife some room between the vehicle and the wall. In his account, the door had swung around and left a buffer for her legs near the wheels.
To free Peggy, firefighters used rescue air bags and a spreading tool to lift the car. Once she was out, crews treated her at the scene and took her straight to South Shore Hospital with serious injuries.
Local 2398 called the response a “critical technical rescue.” In its post, the union praised the crew: “Outstanding work by Group 3 under intense pressure.” It also offered its thoughts to her family and wished her a speedy recovery.
A Birthday Ahead
Norman went with his wife to the hospital. He told WHDH that she had serious injuries to her chest and legs and faced a long recovery.
With Peggy’s birthday coming that week, he also spoke about her toughness. “She’ll be 82 this week, so she’s no spring chicken, as they say, but she’s a tough old Irish girl,” he said.