Woman, aged 97, injured after car crashed into tree at Tintenbar, near Ballina

Police are investigating after a car filled with four people crashed into a tree near Ballina - resulting in a 97-year-old woman being flown to hospital in a serious condition.

Helicopter on the scene. Picture: Facebook / Sangita S Wallace

Police are investigating after a car filled with four people crashed into a tree near Ballina - resulting in a 97-year-old woman being flown to hospital in a serious condition.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 12.15pm after reports of a crash on the Pacific Motorway at Tintenbar, near Ballina.

The front passenger, 97, suffered chest and leg injuries and was flown to Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition, NSW Ambulance state.

The driver, 35, was taken to Lismore Base Hospital for minor injuries. She will undergo mandatory testing, police state.

Two back passengers, aged 15 and 16, suffered minor injuries.

The northbound motorway lane is closed near Cumbalum.

The Pacific Motorway northbound lane remained closed and there were five ambulances called to the scene along with police and Fire and Rescue.

On the Pacific Motorway, one northbound lane and all southbound lanes were open on Wednesday afternoon.

Ballina residents took to Facebook warning people to steer clear of the area.

“We drove past going south just as emergency services were arriving. It looks pretty bad. It happened in the pouring rain. So sad. I hope everyone is going to be ok,” one woman wrote.

“Absolute gridlocked – I’m stuck on the off ramp from Ballina. Avoid it if you can,” a man wrote.

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