A woman is still fighting for her life this morning after a serious crash on a recently resurfaced stretch of road.

The victim, a 40-year-old from Maidstone, suffered serious head injuries when her yellow Ford Ka flipped over on the A229 Maidstone Road at Staplehurst.

Police and paramedics raced to the scene between the junctions of Chart Hill Road and Clapper Lane just before 4.30am.

A lorry driver could be seen on CCTV footage stopping at the scene and flagging down assistance while he administered CPR.

Two ambulances, two response cars and an air ambulance attended the incident which only involved one car.

The woman was taken to London’s Kings College Hospital by road with life-threatening head injuries as well as damage to her leg and ankle.

The road, which had a temporary speed limit of 20mph in place at the time of the crash, was closed for seven hours following the incident while investigations were carried out.

The vehicle, which was travelling towards Staplehurst, was recovered from the drive way of Homeleigh's Timber and Building Supplies Ltd, where it is believed to have collided with a steel fence post before flipping over.

A resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “The road was resurfaced yesterday at 5pm, it was left in an absolute state with gravel everywhere and no road markings.

"As soon as the road was reopened after the accident there was a road sweeper going over both lanes and Kent County Council Highways officials in white suits looking at the surface.”

Louis Jenkins, a director at Homeleigh's, said members of staff at the company had been flagging down motorcyclists yesterday evening the crash to warn them about the surface.

A KCC spokesman said: “We are very concerned to hear of the crash on the Maidstone Road, Staplehurst and our thoughts are with the driver and her family.

“A police investigation is ongoing which obviously we are unable to comment on.

“A temporary 20 mph speed limit was in place due to the resurfacing works and one of our highway engineers has undertaken a site inspection following this unfortunate incident”

He added: “Following surface dressing work checks are made to ensure material is embedded on an adhesive layer. Vehicles that travel along the road over the week will further impact material into the highway and KCC sends a sweeper out three times a week to clear any loose gravel.”

Police have launched an appeal for information following the accident.

Sgt Chris Wade from Kent Police’s serious collision unit said: “The driver has suffered serious head injuries which are life threatening.

“We are keen to speak to anyone who may have either witnessed the collision or who saw the driver’s Ford Ka in the moments leading up to the collision.”

The stretch of road has seen three fatal accidents in just under two years.

In October 37-year-old motorcyclist Christopher Worthington died after colliding head on with a transit van near Butt Green Lane on the Linton Hill stretch of the road.

The previous year a 21-year-old motorist and passenger Will Funnell, 19, died after their Volkswagen Bora crashed at the same spot.

Anyone with information is asked to call 01622 798538, quoting reference 10-0114.

Video: Emergency services at the scene

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