Image copyright EPA Image caption Ford recently appeared in Bladerunner 2049

Film star Harrison Ford has been praised for rescuing a woman whose car rolled off a motorway and hit a tree in California.

The star was in Santa Paula, north of Los Angeles, with a friend when they heard the crash and went to assist.

Local police officer Matt Alonzo said: "He acted as a good Samaritan, just like everybody else, and tried to help before emergency services arrived."

Ford and others helped the female driver out of the vehicle he said.

The woman, who was the only occupant of the saloon car, escaped with minor injuries, authorities told local newspaper Ventura County Star.

'Lost control'

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the 63-year-old was driving eastbound in the fast lane of Highway 126 at about 10.55am local time when, for unknown reasons, her car drifted left into the central reservation.

Officer Tom Kirkland, a spokesman for the CHP, said that when the woman put on the brakes, she lost control of the car and it swerved right across all the eastbound lanes and down an embankment.

Ford checked the woman was all right before leaving. He was not a witness to the crash and didn't provide any statements, officer Kirkland said.

The officer added that Santa Paula police and the local fire brigade also attended the scene.

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