81-year-old woman trapped under car for hours in pouring rain before husband finds her

HINGHAM, Mass. (WHDH) - Firefighters rescued an 81-year-old Massachusetts woman who spent four hours trapped under her car in the pouring rain.

Norman Wilbur says he knew something was wrong seconds after a cab dropped him off Friday night at his Hingham home. It turned out his wife, 81-year-old Peggy Wilbur, had gotten trapped underneath her car.

“I walked around, and I heard, ‘Help. Help.’ I said… ‘Peggy, is that you?’ And I looked. I couldn’t even see her because the car was up against it," Norman Wilbur said.

He called 911 as soon as he realized what happened, and Hingham Firefighters arrived within minutes. They used airbags and a spreading safety tool to lift the car off Peggy Wilbur.

Firefighters say the car was accidentally left in neutral and rolled toward the victim, pinning her against a rock wall. Her husband says she had been trapped for four hours in the pouring rain before he found her.

“You couldn’t see her because the wall was here and the car was right up to it,” Norman Wilbur said. “If the door hadn’t swung around, that added a buffer zone, enough of her legs between the wheels and the wall. If that didn’t happen, she would be in hot water.”

Norman Wilbur went with his wife to the hospital. She suffered serious injuries to her chest and legs and now faces a long recovery.

“She’ll be 82 this week, so she’s no spring chicken, as they say, but she’s a tough old Irish girl,” he said.

Firefighters say their thoughts are with the victim and her family.