A YOUNG woman has told of the terrifying minute she got caught up in a multiple car crash days after her 21st birthday.

Dominique Skelton, from Consett, had been out looking for film stars from the new Avengers movie in Durham with her friends.

As she approached the junction at Lanchester Road at Maiden Law, near Lanchester, at 5.20pm last Wednesday, there was collision involving four cars, including her own black Renault Clio.

Miss Skelton, who was 21 on April 23, said: “We were going to the pub to meet my mam and my sister in Stanley. There was a car in front of me.

“I had pulled up to the junction slowly and I saw it all happen in front of me.

“I did not see which car hit which first. I just saw a big smash. I heard my friend say ‘Oh my God.’

“I saw a silver car coming towards us and that was it. I must have been knocked out when the car hit us.”

The collision also involved a silver Ford Focus, red Fiat Punto and grey VW Golf.

Miss Skelton said: “The next thing I remember was someone saying ‘you need to get out of the car’ and ‘you need to turn the ignition off’.

“I got out of the car and they were saying ‘you need to sit down’, but I did not want to sit down.

“I was able to walk and I remember saying ‘am I bleeding’ to my friend because I had blood coming all down my head.”

Emergency services were called and Miss Skelton was taken to hospital by ambulance.

She added: “I have five or six staples in my head now. The rest is just bruising and whiplash. The doctor said I had severe concussion.”

The driver of the Ford Focus, a 33-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and aggravated vehicle taking.

The Northern Echo: GAPING: Dominique Skelton suffered a head wound

INJURY: Dominique Skelton suffered a head wound

He is currently being treated at University Hospital of North Durham for injuries he suffered in the smash.

His passenger, a man of 31, was also arrested for aggravated vehicle taking and remains under investigation. Both men are from Stanley.

Miss Skelton, who passed her driving test in 2015, and is a retail supervisor at the Metrocentre, has been signed off work for two weeks.

She faces getting the bus to work because the ordeal has left her afraid of driving.

Miss Skelton said: “My Mam keeps saying I need to get back behind the wheel of the car because otherwise I might be too scared but right now I do not feel like driving.

I woke up on Sunday night panicking.

“I was in shock. I am terrified to drive again.

“I am lucky to have come out of that with minor injuries and that it was not fatal.”