Two killed in car crash

Two people have died in a car crash in the early hours of today, police said.

One person was declared dead at the scene and an 18-year-old man - thought to be a rear-seat passenger - suffered serious head injuries.

He was airlifted to Great Western Hospital in Swindon but died later.

Five people in their teens and early 20s were trapped in the car, including the 20-year-old driver.

A crew from Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) came across the incident at 1am on the A342 at Rowde, near Devizes, Wiltshire, near the entrance of Rowdeford School.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "Our crew notified our control room to request back-up and began assessing patients. Apparently they had to smash the car windows to start providing essential life-saving treatment while back-up, including fire service, was en route."

The helicopter had to return to the scene three times as the injured were freed from the car.

The air ambulance also took a 16-year-old boy to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. He was in a serious condition and remains critical.

Jeff Nash, from the ambulance service, said: "This was clearly a very serious incident with a tragic outcome.

"However, our crews, working with a doctor and other emergency services on scene, did everything they could to give the patients the best possible chance."

A rapid-response vehicle attended the scene along with another two ambulance crews, a doctor, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and a GWAS on-call officer.

Wiltshire Police said the road has been closed with diversions to remain in place until mid-morning while a thorough scene examination is completed.

A force spokesman said the formal identification of the two people who died has yet to be made.