Prince Philip 'Shocked, Shaken' After Car Crash

97-year-old uninjured after collision
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2019 1:20 AM CST
Prince Philip 'Shocked, Shaken' After Car Crash
The scene near the Sandringham Estate where Britain's Prince Philip was involved in a road accident in Sandringham, England, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019.   (Sam Russell/PA via AP)

A lucky escape for Prince Philip: Authorities in Britain say Queen Elizabeth II's 97-year-old husband was uninjured but "very, very shocked and shaken" after a car crash near the Queen's Sandringham estate, the BBC reports. Witnesses say the prince, who still drives his Land Rover regularly, was involved in a collision with a Kia as he drove out of a driveway onto a main road Thursday afternoon. Two women in the Kia were hospitalized with minor injuries. The prince and the other driver both passed breathalyzer tests. "It is force policy to breath test drivers involved in collisions," a Norfolk Police spokesman says. "We can confirm both drivers were breath tested and provided negative readings."

The accident overturned the prince's Land Rover. "The fact anybody walked away from that is incredible," a witness tells the Telegraph. "If a 30-year-old had walked away from that unhurt it would be a miracle. For a 97-year-old man, that is something else." There is no upper age limit for driving in Britain, though drivers over 70 have to renew their licenses and declare any medical conditions every three years. People may be surprised that the prince, who will be 98 in June, is still driving, but he "has always been fiercely independent, and would have resisted any suggestion that he be denied the right to drive himself," says BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond. (In 2017, the prince retired from public duties.)

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