Car crushed on The Spit Bridge

19 days ago

Northern Beaches Advocate

Traffic chaos and a miracle escape after a car was crushed by a truck on The Spit Bridge.

Traffic chaos and a miracle escape after a car was crushed by a truck on The Spit Bridge.

Just after 7.30am this morning (Monday, 24 February), emergency services were called to a report of a southbound collision between a prime mover Volvo truck and a green 2000 Toyota MR2 convertible on The Spit Bridge.

NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, firefighters from Mosman, Crows Nest and City of Sydney Stations and the Toll NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter were all tasked to the incident scene at Spit Road, Seaforth.

Triple Zero (000) calls from the scene reported that a truck had ploughed through a car on the bridge, leaving it crushed and the driver ‘squashed’. Reports also indicated the fuel tanks of at least one of the vehicles had also been ruptured.

Traffic at the major choke point was immediately thrown into gridlock, but an Intensive Care ambulance from nearby Balgowlah Ambulance Station was able to reach the crash site within ten minutes.

Paramedics reported the car was ‘extremely’ deformed as a result of the crash, in which it appears the car was hit from behind by the truck and crushed against the guardrail at the side of the bridge.

The 49-year-old male driver and sole occupant was trapped inside the wreckage. The man was alert and able to speak with paramedics, but they were not able to access him to assess his condition.

Given the state of the wreck, they confirmed the need for a critical care medical team, who were en route from Bankstown. The rescue helicopter landed at Spit West Reserve on the southern side of the bridge just after 8.00am.

With the man trapped inside the badly crushed vehicle, firefighters commenced a careful rescue operation using hydraulic equipment to free the man from the wreckage.

Just before 8.15am, when enough of the car had been cut away to give paramedics access to the still-trapped man, the rescue operation was paused to allow Intensive Care Paramedics to assess the driver’s condition. Aside from being trapped inside the wreck of the vehicle, he did not appear to require any urgent medical intervention and the rescue operation resumed.

Southbound traffic across The Spit Bridge had been stopped and diverted to the Roseville Bridge via the Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Road. That route to the city was also delayed for around half an hour shortly after 8.00am by a two-car collision westbound at Warringah Road, Frenchs Forest.

While efforts to cut the man out of the vehicle resumed, firefighters also neutralised fuel spills from the damaged vehicles using absorbent material. The man was finally freed from the vehicle shortly before 8.45am, after being trapped for almost an hour and 15 minutes.

He was rushed into the Intensive Care ambulance on scene where he was given an assessment by the critical care medical team. He was complaining of pain to his chest, back and legs but had no obvious external injuries.

As a precaution, the medical team treated the man for possible internal and spinal injuries, and he was taken by road to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition just after 8.45am.

With assistance from firefighters, the vehicle was recovered from the road by a tow truck shortly after 9.30am. The NSW Police Crash Investigation Unit were observed conducting inquiries at the scene, but the incident did not meet major crash investigation criteria due to the driver not suffering life-threatening injuries. No other injuries were reported.

After hours of delays for morning commuters, including over 60 buses trapped in gridlock, the road was reopened just before 10.00am. Traffic had returned to normal across the Northern Beaches by lunchtime.

Images: Northern Beaches Advocate