Woman survives carpark plunge

Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

A driver in Melbourne had a great escape yesterday, surviving a six-storey plunge from a carpark building.

Rescue crews found the car lying crumpled on the passenger side with the woman hanging from the seatbelt in the driver's seat.

The 41-year-old was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition with a severe cut to the top of her head and potential spinal injuries.

Paramedic Matthew Riddle said the seatbelt saved the woman from taking the full force of the impact.

"Without the seatbelt she would have fallen down to the passenger side," he said. "I think a lot of things contributed to keeping her alive today, the airbags, the seatbelt ... luck."

Police are yet to determine how the woman drove through the safety rail, just before 9am local time, at the intersection of Franklin and Anthony Sts in Melbourne's CBD.

They say a building opposite the carpark helped to break her fall.

"We believe the car has hit the side of the building before falling to the ground," acting Senior Sergeant John Mason said.

"It could have contributed as to why she is in serious but stable condition and not much worse."

Paramedics' efforts were slowed with the car wedged between two buildings in a narrow alley. Fire crews removed a window and a section of the roof to give the paramedics access in a 40-minute extraction.

Mr Riddle said the woman's injuries were unique.

"It's different in a high-speed crash. The force comes from one direction but it looks like this car has hit a few buildings on the way down so she's been struck from a few angles.

"She was a little confused at first but as the job went on she became more oriented and she understood what was happening. She couldn't really tell us what had happened."

- AAP