![The truck rolled and hit a tree. Picture by FRNSW The truck rolled and hit a tree. Picture by FRNSW](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/afalkenmire/7dffa49e-5f74-4509-a180-943521e41a6d.jpg/r0_0_1080_810_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Update:
A MAN is "incredibly lucky to be alive" after he was trapped in the wreck of a truck when it it rolled, hit a tree and came to rest on the top of a steep drop off.
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Emergency services rushed to the scene on the Oxley Highway east of Walcha just after 5am on Tuesday.
NSW Ambulance paramedics, volunteers from the state emergency service (SES) and crews from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) worked to free a 31-year-old man who was trapped in the cab of the truck.
The man was trapped for about three hours but paramedics were able to get some pain relief to him.
He was eventually cut from the wreck using specialist hydraulic tools, according to a FRNSW spokesperson.
![Specialist rescue tools were used to cut the man free. Picture by FRNSW Specialist rescue tools were used to cut the man free. Picture by FRNSW](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/afalkenmire/7bcb2de0-a46e-467c-8667-570da002de45.jpg/r0_0_810_1080_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The man suffered injuries to his right side and leg.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to the scene with a critical care team on board and landed on the stretch of road, near Mount Seaview, before airlifting the man to Tamworth hospital.
He was in a stable condition at the time.
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"This patient is incredibly lucky to be alive," NSW Ambulance Inspector James Wood said.
"This was a fairly serious accident with the truck rolling, hitting a tree and the driver becoming trapped.
"Too often we get called to incidents like this and we have a more tragic outcome."
Inspector Wood pleaded with motorists to take care on the roads, especially at this time of year, with school holiday and Christmas traffic.
Travellers on the Oxley Highway between Walcha and Mount Seaview had to take a two-hour diversion while the road was closed on Tuesday morning.
The highway reopened in the hours after the crash but drivers were warned there would be on-and-off delays as the truck was recovered from the top of the drop off, off the edge of the road.
The semi-trailer was carrying frozen goods at the time.
Earlier:
![The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS) was tasked to the scene with a critical care team on board. Picture supplied by WRHS The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS) was tasked to the scene with a critical care team on board. Picture supplied by WRHS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/afalkenmire/4897dfab-b351-4d8a-962e-5d1af81ed504.jpg/r0_0_2016_1512_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A MAN has been airlifted to Tamworth hospital and highway traffic on a main route linking the region to the coast has been affected after a semi-trailer rolled.
The Oxley Highway was shut to traffic between Walcha and Mount Seaview just after 5am this morning as a rescue helicopter, paramedics, firefighters and police were rushed to the scene.
Ambulance NSW paramedics found a 31-year-old man trapped by confinement after the truck rolled.
He was freed from the wreck and treated to injuries he suffered to the right side of his body.
The man was flown by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to Tamworth hospital in a stable condition.
It is understood he was the only person injured in the single-vehicle crash.
A two-hour diversion was in place earlier this morning but the road had partially reopened to traffic by about 9am.
Travellers, such as those driving between Tamworth and Port Macquarie, have been told to allow an extra 30 minutes because the road will close intermittently as the heavy vehicle is recovered.
The crash comes within the first few days of the Christmas school holidays, and people have been urged to travel with caution.
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