“They were crying and screaming, I think that was the scariest thing”
Two people remain in a serious condition in hospital after a car crashed into a campsite and hit a tent, where a baby was sleeping.
Nine people were injured when the Ford Fiesta left the road at Newgale, Pembrokeshire, on Saturday night.
A baby in the tent escaped serious injury as it was in a cot, according to Newgale Campsite’s owner.
Mike Harris described the baby’s good fortune as a “miracle”.
The car went over a ditch, rolled into a tent and over a group of people.
Dyfed-Powys Police said the car crashed into the campsite shortly after 22:30 BST, with passengers in the car among the injured.
The road changes from a 60mph (100km/h) to 30mph (50km/h) just beside the entrance to the campsite, with tents just a few feet from the road.
Mr Harris told BBC Radio Wales he reviewed CCTV afterwards to make sense of the situation.
He said: “I couldn’t believe this car, how it had been speeding so fast down the road from the Roch area through a 30mph zone and then left the road.”
The road alongside the campsite changes from a 60mph to a 30mph limit
Councillor Peter Morgan added: “It’s a miracle that nobody is killed, that’s the main thing.
“It wasn’t a very good scene to look at, but the people who were there thankfully a couple of medics were staying on site that night and thankfully they were there to help.”
Mr Morgan said a planned new road – several years in the making – needed to be looked at “sooner rather than later”.
He added: “I think you can look at things but you can’t warrant for a car allegedly speeding and rolling over on a campsite.”
Image source, The Pembrokeshire Herald
A cordon was placed around a collapsed tent on Saturday night as investigators surveyed the scene
Mr Harris runs the campsite with his wife Clare, who said the car tried to brake as it came down a hill.
“It flipped and rolled several times, and crashed into the tent,” she said.
“There was a young child, a baby, in the tent at the time. Thankfully they are OK.”
The car had to be lifted to free casualties beneath according to Mr Harris, who said despite being seriously injured it could have been a “lot worse”.
He said it was “fortunate” there were firefighters and two surgeons staying on the campsite who were “able to take charge and make the best of the situation”.
Mr Harris added he was “very impressed” with the speed and response of the emergency services, with about 15 vehicles on the scene quickly.
One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff by a Coastguard rescue helicopter, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.
Six ambulances were sent to the scene, and five other people were taken to hospital by paramedics.
Four of the patients were taken to Glangwili General Hospital in Carmarthen, and another one to Morriston Hospital, Swansea.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service also sent a crew to the scene.
Watch: Campsite owner recalls moments after car rolled on to occupied tent
Police said: “Shortly after 10:30pm several calls were made to emergency services reporting the one-car collision at Newgale Campsite.
“The blue Ford Fiesta, which contained a number of occupants, is believed to have been travelling on from the direction of Roch in the St Davids direction when it lost control and veered off the road.”
