Mr Howard said it took 45 minutes for a team of Greytown firefighters to extract the trapped driver from the Toyota. They had to use chains to lift the ute.
"It was a tricky job," he said.
"This was a rare scenario, as it's more common that the cars will end up apart, rather than intertwined so they don't use the chains to tow often. It was a long, almost surgical procedure."
Once they removed the ute and towed the car from the barrier, the crew used a ram to stretch the car "to its natural shape", as the passenger side was forced inwards.
They removed the roof using hydraulic tools, and were then able to lift the driver out.
Firefighters from Martinborough directed traffic and cleared space for the air ambulance.
The woman, in her 20s and the sole occupant of the car, was flown to Wellington Hospital with suspected internal injuries, and her condition was described as serious.
The driver of the ute walked away with "only a few cuts".
"They were lucky that barrier was there, or they could have gone down a 45-degree bank," said Mr Howard.
The SH53 intersection was a "pretty bad one", Mr Howard said, as some drivers did not give way in Bidwills Cutting Rd.
"We have been to a few crashes in that area.
"Unfortunately, in an 100km/h zone, if drivers make a small mistake, this can happen."
A spokesperson from Wellington Hospital confirmed late yesterday the woman was still in the intensive care unit, but was in a stable condition.
The crash was the second on Bidwills Cutting Rd within a week.
On Monday, a 17-year-old man escaped injury when his truck flipped close to the Moroa Rd intersection with Bidwills Cutting Rd, near Greytown.
