Driver killed in M1 Maddens Plains crash that sent workers' ute airborne

Wearing high-visibility work gear, the pair were travelling southward when their dual-cab ute is believed to have clipped a southbound Mazda, just before the Bulli Pass turnoff, shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, November 22.

The ute hit a guard rail before becoming airborne, flying high enough to hit the motorway's overhead steel signage.

NSW Ambulance's Inspector Norm Rees said the male driver, aged about 40, died at the scene.

"The car had become airborne after hitting the guard rail," he said. "It tore the ute apart. As a result, the male driver was deceased at the scene."

Emergency services used hydraulic equipment to free the trapped female passenger.

Insp Rees said the woman suffered abrasions and chest pain. Medicos were unable to rule out internal injuries.

"She was very lucky," he said.

"But because she was sitting in the [badly impacted] ute ... there is the potential for blunt trauma. A decision was made, in consultation with a medical team from the helicopter, to fly her to St George Hospital for further assessment."

The clipped Mazda suffered minimal damage, with its three male occupants unhurt, though one was taken by road ambulance to Wollongong Hospital, suffering shock.

The motorway was closed to southbound traffic for about an hour to allow the ambulance helicopter to land and depart.

Southbound traffic remains heavy as at 7pm, with traffic at a crawl.