Video footage has emerged showing the terrifying moment members of the public pulled a man from a wrecked car just seconds after it crashed into the fountain at Piccadilly Circus. The crash happened at around 5.20am on Sunday (June 29), when a black BMW smashed into the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and landed on its roof.

In the clip, shared online, people are seen rushing towards the overturned car moments after the impact. The vehicle appears to be seriously damaged, with the front end crushed and several pieces of street furniture knocked over. A group of men are already gathered around the car, and one of them is seen pulling a man wearing a blue top from the wreckage. The man appears to be severely dazed and is left lying on his back as someone can be heard repeatedly shouting: “Call an ambulance, call an ambulance.”

Others are seen trying to look inside the car to check on a second man, who was still trapped.

No emergency services appear to be present in the video, but the area was later fully cordoned off.

Emergency services later confirmed that one of the men’s injuries were assessed as life-threatening. 

The other man suffered serious injuries, though they are not believed to be life-threatening.

Both injured men, aged 22, were treated at the scene by the London Ambulance Service, which sent multiple paramedics.

The man with more serious injuries was rushed to a major trauma centre for urgent treatment.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said:  “We were called at 5.25am to reports of a road traffic collision on Piccadilly, W1J.

“We sent a number of resources, including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team (HART).

“We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance. Our first paramedic arrived on scene in less than four minutes.

“We treated two people. We took one patient to a major trauma centre and the other patient to a local hospital.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson added: “At 05:28am on Sunday, 29 June police were called to Piccadilly Circus following a single vehicle road traffic collision.

“A black BMW had overturned, ending up next to the Eros fountain. Officers attended with London Ambulance Service paramedics and the London Fire Brigade.

“Two men, both aged 22 and both occupants of the vehicle, were taken to hospital.

“One of the men is in a life threatening condition. The other man’s injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

“No pedestrians were injured and no other vehicles are believed to be involved.”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.