Sydney Harbour Bridge closed during morning peak after crash that left one dead, four injured

One person has died and four others injured after an accident that closed the bridge during the morning peak.

A woman was killed and three others are recovering in hospital after a head-on collision involving three cars on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Police said the female driver may have tried to skirt peak-hour traffic as she crossed two lanes in the wrong direction and smashed into an oncoming car in the southbound lane, causing commuter chaos in the city and for kilometres beyond it until early afternoon.

The female driver of the red Mitsubishi Mirage, believed to be in her 30s, was travelling north with two male passengers when she crossed for a “very short time” into the southbound lanes and hit a black BMW about 7am on Thursday near Millers Point.

A rescue helicopter landed on the Harbour Bridge during the emergency response. Picture: Dave Millar/Twitter

“I t was peak hour and it was ­extremely heavy traffic. It does ­appear that the one lane had lighter traffic in it and they crossed into that perhaps thinking … there was a clear lane of traffic heading in the right direction,” Acting Superintendent Paul Dunstan said.

The female driver, who has not been formally identified, died at the scene and her passengers, 21 and 23, suffered serious injuries and were both taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital. The 21-year-old suffered head injuries and was in a critical condition ­before he was stabilised. Both were in a stable condition on Thursday night.

Confusion caused by peak-hour lane changes will be investigated, but Superintendent Dunstan said he did not believe they were a “contributing factor”.

“It would appear that the traffic conditions were marked out quite clearly in this instance,” he said.

Emergency services at the scene. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

The 40-year-old female BMW driver survived but was trapped in her car for more than two hours as police, paramedics and firefighters worked to free her.

The roof of the BMW had to be removed to extract her before she was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a serious condition. She suffered a broken leg and spinal injuries and was in a stable condition on Thursday night. Her 40-year-old male passenger was not injured.

After the initial collision, the BMW smashed into a Jeep. The driver, a 49-year-old woman, was not injured.

Seven ambulances, a rescue helicopter, five fire trucks along with officers from the Sydney City Police Area Command attended the scene. Firefighters from the Rocks Fire Station had to park their trucks nearby and walk to the crash site because the traffic had blocked access.

All northbound lanes of the bridge were closed as well as three of five southbound lanes between about 7am and 10.30am.

The crash brought traffic to a standstill across the wider Sydney network, with heavy traffic southbound on Military Road to Mosman and on the Warringah Freeway from Naremburn.

Traffic was also gridlocked on Victoria Road and the Gladesville Bridge, from Haberfield in the inner west and Hunters Hill, as well as on the Western Distributor and Anzac Bridge.

Buses travelling towards the city are ending their trips at North Sydney. Use a train to continue your journey. https://t.co/WhpFBSeRJb

— Buses Info (@BusesInfo) August 26, 2020