A severely injured passenger was found by a mechanic in the back seat of a car seven hours after a road traffic accident Friday, after rescue workers failed to notice she was there.

Cheongwon Police Station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, said Monday that a 22-year-old woman, whose name has not been revealed, was in a state of general paralysis due to severe neck damage. She is being treated in intensive care. 

A mechanic at a repair shop where the car had been sent after the accident discovered the woman.

Eight firefighters and two police officers attended the scene, but none of them noticed the injured woman in the backseat. According to the police, the driver had told them there were only two people in the car.

The car, driven by a 26-year-old man and carrying two passengers, crashed into a guardrail at about 6 a.m. on Friday. The driver was found to have blood alcohol content of 0.116 percent -- high enough for his license to be revoked. The driver and the front seat passenger sustained minor injuries.

“It was dark and the rescue team couldn’t see properly,” a local fire station official said.

By Choi Ji-won (jwchoikr@heraldcorp.com)