Two drivers were flown to hospital after a horror head-on truck and car crash that closed the Princes Highway at Jaspers Brush for hours on Thursday.
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Emergency services were called to the highway between Bolong Road and Meroo Road, close to Silos Estate Berry, at about 11.45am to find two drivers trapped in their vehicles.
It took Fire and Rescue and ambulance rescue crews about an hour to free the driver of the ute, a 50-year-old man.
However, the 30-year-old driver of the small courier Pantech truck was trapped for hours before he was extricated.
The ute driver was transported by helicopter to St George Hospital in a stable condition with a lower leg injury while the 30-year-old man sustained a serious leg injury and was airlifted to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.
The helicopters landed on the road so the patients could be easily and quickly airlifted.
NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Inspector Chris Lahene said being called to any road crash was always challenging especially when paramedics needed to treat multiple patients.
"Our four paramedic crews and two specialist medical teams did a fantastic job to safely extricate both patients," he said.
"They provided ongoing treatment before transporting both patients hospital in a stable condition.
"Please take extra care when you get behind the wheel of any vehicle. This had the potential to be fatal."
Shoalhaven Fire Station officer Craig Vincent said highway workers and other motorists rushed to apply first aid to the drivers immediately after the crash.
"All emergency services arrived to what was a fairly serious accident as both drivers were heavily trapped," he said.
"Ambulance rescue crews started the extraction.
"Due to the head-on crash, the truck had tilted over and was leaning on the rear part of the ute. It was leaning on a 45-degree angle down on the driver's side.
"The rescue crews used hydraulic equipment, rams and spreaders to stablise the vehicles and perform the extraction. The ambulance crews provided excellent medical care to both drivers, who were conscious."
The crash had a major impact on the highway, which was closed for several hours between Berry and Bomaderry, with motorists forced to detour via local roads while trucks had to park.
All lanes of the Princes Highway reopened to traffic shortly before 6.30pm. Diversions were lifted, and traffic conditions returned to normal through the area.
South Coast police were on scene to assist with road closures and NSW Police crash investigators also arrived to determine what caused the collision.
The Princes Highway was the scene of another major incident less than 12 hours prior.
A truck, which was carrying seafood burst into flames while travelling north along the highway at Bombo.
The fire, which likely started in the engine, was fully extinguished around 8pm.
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