Woman in 70s suffers head injuries after being pinned under shopping trolley, dragged up escalator at Taree Central

Customers rushed to help a woman who became trapped under a trolley and was dragged screaming up an escalator, suffering injuries at a Taree shopping centre.

Taree Central shopping centre. Picture: Google

Customers rushed to the aid of a woman who became trapped under a shopping trolley and was dragged screaming up an escalator at Taree Central shopping centre.

NSW Ambulance paramedics were called following the incident just after midday on Monday.

The woman was treated for head, shoulder, back and arm injuries.

It’s understood the woman aged in her 70s was using a shopping trolley from another location and it failed to properly ‘lock on’ to the escalator near the Big W department store.

Mel Powell: “It was pretty scary, we were coming down as she was trying to go up.” Picture: File

She fell and became caught underneath the trolley as she fought to control it.

The trolley was only lightly laden – carrying a handbag, walking stick and some empty shopping bags.

“She fell over and got dragged up the escalator and her head got hit the whole way up,” Mel Powells said, after rushing to the shopper’s aid alongside her sister Trudy Hawkins.

“Poor thing was all scratched up and bleeding. She was in a lot of pain and quite confused.”

The woman aged in her 70s fell and became trapped under her own shopping trolley. Picture: File

Ms Powell said two more women and a teenage boy also raced to help the woman.

“It was pretty scary. We were coming down as she was trying to go up and we saw the trolley and heard the scream then looked and she was under it,” she said.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the woman did not require hospital treatment.

Taree Central centre management declined to comment, but it’s understood they supported the shopper at the time and checked on the woman’s welfare this morning.