A female pedestrian has miraculously come away with minor injuries after being run over by a cement mixing truck in Wollongong on Tuesday morning.
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It's understood the woman (believed to be in her 30s) stepped out from the curb in front of the truck, near the intersection of Crown and Harbour Streets, near WIN Stadium around 9:30am.
NSW Ambulance Illawarra Chief Inspector Terry Morrow told the Mercury if the truck driver hadn't put on the breaks when he did, "the wheel would have gone over the top of her and she would have been deceased".
The worst injury they could find was a fractured ankle, he said.
A witness who saw what unfolded said it was "horrifying to watch".
"Everybody was screaming and running out of the cars," said Michele, who didn't wish to give her surname.
"We were upstairs [at the City Beach Motel] just as it happened and we ran out to see who I think was the partner, just screaming and down on his knees.
"[The injured woman] was screaming hysterically and the two people that were in the truck jumped out and were holding their heads just screaming.
"I rang the police straight away and stayed on the line and people ran from everywhere ... the manager from Chicko's ran over to help."
Another witness, who didn't want to be named, tried to render assistance but said the woman's foot was stuck under the truck's suspension and was in a "bad way".
The Toll rescue helicopter landed at WIN Stadium to airlift the woman to St George Hospital around 11am, while the male driver and another male patient were transported by road to Wollongong Hospital.
Four NSW Ambulance crews and a specialist medical team were dispatched to the scene.
The woman was treated at the scene for suspected abdomen, pelvic and lower leg injuries but was in a stable condition, according to paramedics.
NSW Ambulance Duty Operations Manager Inspector Matt Sterling said the woman was lucky to be alive and escape with the injuries she did.
"You get quite nervous when the call comes over the radio and it involves a truck and pedestrian," Inspector Stirling said.
"You just want to get on scene and help the patient.
"She was obviously in a great deal of pain.
"Somehow she has managed to escape with minor injuries
"We all need to be aware of our surroundings and be extra careful when driving any motor vehicle. This had the potential to be fatal. "
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