A tipper truck with a 33-year-old man at the wheel veered off Otford Road about 9.45am.

The truck rolled multiple times – breaking through a steel barrier, crossing a small creek and continuing up a steep incline – before coming to rest on its wheels in bushland near Georges Road. 

The man remained trapped by the steering wheel in the truck’s badly damaged cabin as emergency services personnel worked to free him. 

He suffered a head injury and was complaining of shoulder pain and pain to his side. He also suffered multiple fractures to his legs. 

Police, NSW Ambulance paramedics and Fire and Rescue NSW crews from Otford and Helensburgh attended. 

A chopper landed at nearby Bald Hill and was expected to transport the man to hospital. 

Hazardous materials crews were also at the scene, with a damaged fuel tank causing a leak into bushland. 

The landscape presented a challenge for rescue crews, which have used ladders to cross the creek and steep embankment. 

The Mercury understands the truck was travelling east and was not carrying a load when it came unstuck on a slight, downhill bend. 

11.35am: The driver has been freed and is in the process of being transferred into an ambulance chopper bound for St George Hospital. 

He is in the care of intensive care paramedics and a medical crew, who are driving to Bald Hill under police escort. 

11.50am:

Addressing reporters at the crash site, NSW Ambulance Inspector Norm Rees said the man had remained trapped in a tight space for almost two hours as crews worked in challenging conditions to free him. 

“The whole roof was pushed down ... he was actually lying in a small space half out of his seat,” Insp Rees said. “He was in a very, very confined space. He’s crushed the front of the cabin down onto his legs and was actually trapped by both legs. [The] steering wheel was sitting on his stomach. He's only been supported by a B-pillar (a vertical support bordering the window). That’s the only thing that was holding up.”   

Insp Rees paid tribute to rescue crews, who drew on a wide range of skills and tools. 

“We've used the jaws of life ... the rams to lift the dash off the legs. They've cut the steering wheel off, the doors off, we've used ladder slides to get him over here. There’s a lot of techniques, a lot of skill being used today just to affect this,” he said. 

“Everybody should be congratulated. It’s a lot of logistics. and planning in getting the patient out and to make sure the welfare of all the emergency services are looked after.

More to come.