Police are investigating what caused a Sydney motorist to veer off the road in Sydney's south and plough into a river.
The ute was pulling a small runabout on a trailer when it careered across three lanes of traffic heading north here on General Holmes Drive at Kyeemagh.
The car plunged down a steep enbankment and into the Cooks River.
Witnesses say the car sank fast and they watched helplessly as the driver tried to get out but water came in through his window.
Resident Antonio Christino said he thinks the 40-year-old driver may have trapped by the car's airbags.
A quick-thinking policeman, Sergeant Bruce Jarvis, picked up scuba diving equipment from a local shop and was eventually able to free the driver, after almost 40 minutes underwater.
The man was revived with CPR but tragically has since died in St George Hospital.
16:00
A quick-thinking police officer has pulled a motorist from his submerged vehicle in Sydney’s south, but unfortunately not in time to save his life.
When Sergeant Bruce Jarvis heard on his police scanner that a car had plunged off General Holmes Drive at Kyeemagh, his first thought was to go to the local dive shop and borrow some equipment.
He then rushed to the Cooks River where the utility, towing a boat, was submerged, jumping into the water with a scuba diving mask and feeling his way towards the car.
He rescued the 40-year-old man from inside.
Sergeant Jarvis has told 2GB’s Chris Smith the conditions were extremely difficult.
“The current was running and also I was trying not to get myself tangled up with the vehicle on the bottom of the water," he said.
The man has since died in hospital, police divers who went in afterward say airbags may have trapped him to his seat.
It’s unclear what caused the car to swerve off the road.
It appears to have veered across three lanes of traffic.
15:00
The motorist whose car plunged into water off a bridge in Sydney’s south has died in hospital.
The utility, carrying a boat trailer, was heading north along General Holmes Drive at Kyeemagh when it swerved off the road, down an embankment and into the Cooks River.
The vehicle crushed trees and shrubs in its path, the trailer can be seen floating in the water and there’s no sign of the car.
Witnesses say they watched in horror as the male driver tried to get out of his sinking car.
Fire crews first at the scene jumped into the water to try and find him but the water was too murky.
Police diver Chris Wilkinson, who eventually pulled him free, says the airbags had gone off and the man was pinned in his seat.
“He was still in his seatbelt,” he told LIVENEWS.com.au.
The 40-year-old driver was underwater for 20 minutes and was revived at the scene with CPR.
He was rushed to St George Hospital, but died shortly after arrival.
14:00
A man has been pulled out of Cooks River near Sydney Airport and has been rushed to St George Hospital in a critical condition.
The accident happened near the Endeavour Bridge on General Holmes Drive.
The vehicle, believed to be a four-wheel-drive, is now completely submerged.
Police, the fire brigade and paramedics are at the scene - including a police helicopter.
Initial reports suggest the driver had been towing a boat.
'Tracy', a witness calling in to 2GB’s Chris Smith show described the scene.
“I saw the man in the car in the water,” she said.
“It was above the water slowly going down. It was sinking because his window was down.
“He couldn’t get out, he was trying to get out. He was yelling to people. A man swam out to help but by the time he got there the car had sunk.”