While a rescue team was on Tuesday attending to a motorist whose car plunged into a river on Durban's notorious M19 highway, another driver lost control of his vehicle and seriously injured a police officer.

Advanced life support paramedic Garrith Jamieson said the car landed in the river at about 6.30am near Reservoir Hills.

The highway is regarded as a high accident zone.

“On arrival, rescuers and paramedics found that a vehicle had left the roadway and careered down an embankment, coming to rest in a fast-flowing river.

“On a video circulating on social media, you could actually see the driver's legs protruding from the back.”

Jamieson said rescuers found that a man in his 30s suffered “moderate” injuries and was stabilised before being taken to hospital.

He said the secondary collision took place at the same location while the police and paramedics were attempting to rescue the motorist.

A vehicle went out of control and struck a police car.

He said the policeman sustained serious injuries.

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