A woman was killed in a horrific car crash at the exact spot where another woman almost died in a smash eight months ago.

The victim, who last night had not been identified, was the front seat passenger in a stolen red Honda Prelude that smashed into a wall in the centre of the quiet village of Wytham, near Oxford, on Saturday afternoon.

The driver, a 28-year-old man who has also not been named, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Last night he was still in hospital, where he had been arrested on suspicion of the aggravated theft of a vehicle and causing death by dangerous driving.

In August last year, Steph Peterson, 27, was given just a 10 per cent chance of survival after the Vauxhall Astra she was travelling in hit the same wall in exactly the same place.

Miss Peterson, from High Wycombe, suffered a broken neck, broken ribs, a collapsed lung and lacerated liver in last year's crash.

She spent two days on a ventilator and after her release from hospital was housebound for three months with a metal frame fixed to her skull.

A 27-year-old man who was also in the car suffered whiplash, cuts and bruises and is still receiving treatment for his injuries.

The driver, 22-year-old Guy Packer from Southfield Road, Downley, near High Wycombe, was twice the drink driving limit. Earlier this month he was jailed for 20 months for dangerous driving the maximum sentence and banned from driving for five years.

Police said that in Saturday's crash the Prelude, which was travelling from the Wolvercote direction along Godstow Road, hit the stone wall on a sharp left hand bend in the centre of the village.

The accident happened at 1.47pm and villagers rushed from their homes to help the pair. But despite their efforts and those of paramedics the woman was pronounced dead on arrival at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

A villager who was at the scene shortly afterwards said: "People rushed out to help and called the police and ambulance. People have been out all afternoon."

He said some residents had heard the car's engine rev loudly as it passed over a bridge near the bend and speculated it may have been airborne.

He added that the junction was a known accident blackspot and said: "It's very, very sad. It was lucky no-one else was involved because lots of people walk down there to the playground."

Police spokesman Victoria Bartlett said the Prelude had been reported stolen from Oxford. The road was closed for more than three hours while accident investigators examined the scene and for the wreckage to be cleared. The road was reopened at 5.30pm.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact PC Martin Mann at Abingdon Roads Policing department via 08458 505505.