A Tuesday morning wreck sent a woman to the hospital in critical condition after she drove off an embankment and struck a tree head on.

The driver of the truck, Brittany Hill, 20, of 2012 Rabbit Ridge Road, Ararat, Va., was taken by Surry EMS to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Tuesday afternoon after rescue workers worked for more than 20 minutes to free her from the vehicle.

Trooper Robbie Ellison of the North Carolina Highway Patrol said a man saw the pick-up truck Hill was driving on Westfield Road near Jackson Grocery and got out of her way.

He followed her, observing her alleged erratic driving, and called 911, but there was not enough time to dispatch authorities before she ran off the left-hand side of the road and struck a tree on Massey Road while traveling west toward South Main Street.

Ellison said Hill was not wearing a seat belt, which in this case, he said, worked to her advantage.

“Paramedics said it actually helped her because she bounced around a little, rather than being wedged between the seat and her steering wheel,” Ellison said.

Hill received injuries to her abdomen area and had some abrasions to the head.

Members of the Mount Airy Rescue Squad had to cut Hill from the truck with the jaws-of-life, Ellison said.

Hill is charged with driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving, exceeding a safe speed, failure to yield for a stop sign, driving with no license and a seat belt violation, Ellison reported.

Members of the Bannertown Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene, while Mount Airy Fire Department set up a landing zone for AirCare, which was canceled en route, at Northern Hospital of Surry County.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.