Teacher survives chest injuries after car accident
Times of India | 5 September 2026
Kolkata: In what medical professionals are describing as a miraculous survival, a 27-year-old schoolteacher from Salt Lake has stepped out of hospital after a 3-week battle for her life. Sandwiched between a lamppost and the bonnet of an errant hatchback, she cheated death against extraordinary odds. She was discharged on Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 4 pm on Aug 13. The woman, who teaches at a school in Labony, was standing on the pavement after finishing her duties when an car lost control, swerved onto the sidewalk and pinned her against a lamppost.
The driver was a novice with a learner’s permit and accompanied by her parents. In panic, she accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. Her parents and bystanders rushed the injured woman to Manipal Hospital, Salt Lake. She arrived with a compromised airway, acute respiratory distress, heavy bleeding and severely diminished consciousness.
The hospital formed a team comprising doctors Dipankar Sarkar, internal medicine and critical care; Sudesna Gupta, critical care medicine; Gautam Bhaumik, general surgery; Dipayan Ghosh; cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Arnab Bera; pulmonologist Paromita Kanjilal Chakraborty and emergency medicine.
Tests confirmed multiple rib fractures, a fractured sternum, severe bilateral lung contusions and a right arm fracture. Doctors secured her airway, placed her on mechanical ventilation and inserted emergency chest drains.
Her condition deteriorated, requiring a tracheostomy on Aug 20. On Aug 21, she developed pulmonary edema and worsening subcutaneous emphysema. Tests revealed a right-sided bronchopleural fistula, causing massive air leaks and making ventilation almost ineffective.
The following day, surgeons operated to seal the fistula, repair the shattered ribs and stop the air leak.
Her recovery was complicated by sepsis, fever, severe anemia and clotting abnormalities. She required transfusions and antimicrobial therapy. Doctors deferred surgery for her fractured humerus and immobilised it with a cast. After 20 days of intensive care, she was discharged in stable condition, though she remains on a tracheostomy tube and requires home monitoring.