Toronto firefighters and paramedics used the jaws of life to rescue two women from the back of a taxi cab after a collision downtown late Saturday morning.

Both women were rushed to a trauma centre from the scene on Bathurst Street just north of Dundas Street. One of the women, believed to be about 25 years old, sustained life-threatening injuries and the other was seriously hurt but will recover, according to Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe.

The driver of the Beck taxi also suffered minor injuries.

Police told CBC News that the cab driver attempted to make a U-turn on Bathurst and a four-tonne pickup truck slammed into the taxi.

When paramedics arrived at the scene, both female passengers were unconscious and trapped in the back of the taxi. (Alison Chiasson/CBC)

Stibbe said that police are still investigating who was at fault. U-turns are not illegal unless there are signs clearly stating so in a particular area.

Taxi driver Danny Ryan told CBC News that the manoeuvre is simply part of the job and customers often expect them if it saves them money on the fare.

"I make like 50 U-turns a day. You have to make U-turns, especially for taxi driving," Ryan said. "It's different driving than with private cars."

It's not clear if the women injured in the collision were wearing seatbelts.