A man had to be saved by rescue teams last night after careening off the Maidstone bridge into the Tongaat River in KwaZulu-Natal.

It is currently unknown what caused the accident, but reports from the scene suggest no other vehicles were involved and the man was alone in his car.

Given the damage to the guardrail on the bridge, it is suspected the driver lost control while crossing the river on the R102 near Tongaat, plummeting into the water a few metres below.

“When we arrived, the man was still trapped in his car and water was rushing in. We worked to extricate him and saw that he had sustained moderate injuries,” said Medi Response spokesperson, Paul Herbst.

He was later transported to the road for stabilisation by paramedics on site before being transported to a nearby hospital.