At around 10am Wednesday 27/2/2013 Cessnock District Rescue Squad personnel responded to John Renshaw Drive following reports of a serious three vehicle collision with persons trapped. Upon arrival at the scene, approximately one kilometre east of Stanford Methyr Paramedics advised Rescue Personnel that the female driver of one vehicle was trapped with five other patients involved but all out of the other two vehicles. Whilst Paramedics treated the injured, Rescue Personnel stabilised the vehicle in which the women was trapped and using hydraulic spreaders and cutters removed the driver’s side of the vehicle. After around thirty minutes the women was released from the vehicle and placed into an Ambulance to be further stabilised by Paramedics. The women was then transferred to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter which had landed near the scene then flown to the John Hunter Hospital with multiple limb injuries and possible spinal and internal injuries. The four occupants, a man, woman and two children from a second sedan and the male diver and sole occupant of the utility were all treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries before being transported by several Ambulances to the John Hunter Hospital.
John Renshaw Drive was closed to all traffic between Kurri Kurri and Buchanan for around two hours as a result of the collision.