Five other pedestrians were assessed at the scene and three were taken to hospital, while the driver of the truck was trapped in the vehicle for about 45 minutes before being released and rushed to hospital in a critical condition. The scene of the truck crash at Green Square. Credit:AAP NSW Ambulance acting Superintendent Steve Vaughan said first responders arrived to find pedestrians strewn across the road. "The first paramedics on scene arrived to find an absolutely horrific scene," he said. "The patients were spread over some distance, approximately 50 metres, with multiple people requiring a number of paramedics to work on them to stabilise their condition."

One female pedestrian was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition, while two others were taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a stable condition, he said. One patient had lower back pain, while the other had facial and limb injuries. Another female pedestrian was treated for shock and did not need to be taken to hospital, he said. A pedestrian is taken away by paramedics at the scene of the truck crash at Green Square. Credit:AAP Police Superintendent Andrew Holland said witnesses told police the truck appeared to clip a gutter on the southbound side of the road before crossing over three lanes of traffic. "He has swerved into a power pole, knocking the power pole down, he has then careened into a group of pedestrians waiting for a bus at that location," he said.

Superintendent Holland said the truck also caused the partial collapse of a building and hit a set of traffic lights, which remained embedded in the front of the vehicle. Loading Acting Superintendent Vaughan said it took "significant intervention" from paramedics and police rescue crews to rescue the truck driver from the vehicle. "He was critically unwell, with parts of the truck actually compressing his legs," he said. "[The driver] required significant intervention from the medical team as well as collaboration with police rescue and paramedics to remove him from the vehicle."

The driver was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition. Acting Superintendent Vaughan said it was yet to be determined whether the truck driver had suffered a medical episode, but a well placed source said police believe the truck driver suffered a pulmonary embolism, or clot in the lungs, and passed out at the wheel. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video 'Huge disaster' at crash scene: witnesses Natalie, a witness, told 2GB that it was a "huge disaster".

"I walked past a couple of people that were lying on the ground and they had medics around them attending to them," she said. "The chopper has just arrived but there is a tonne of cops. The road is all shut for about a kilometre. It looks like some power lines might have gone down near a construction site. It is a huge disaster." Construction workers Younes Kelly and Robert Leach were working on a nearby site when they heard the crash. Emergency services will remain at the scene of the crash for a number of hours, police said. Credit:Natassia Chrysanthos "All we heard was a massive bang and at first I thought it was just another construction site," Mr Leach said.

"Then we saw the poles move and the power lines sparking." The men both went to have a look, and Mr Kelly said he saw the truck had crashed into people before ending up off the road. "I was a bit shocked to be honest, you don't expect that, especially not walking to work," Mr Leach said. An empty City of Sydney Council building was also damaged in the crash. Credit:TNV.com.au Natalie Hurd, who lives nearby, said it she didn't realise there had been a major crash until she heard the helicopters.

"It's kind of like a movie set. It doesn't seem real that something like that could happen. It makes you feel how lucky you are. My husband would usually walk down that street to catch the bus to work but he called [in] sick today," she said. What happened is 'heartbreaking': Lord Mayor Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the incident on Wednesday morning is "heartbreaking", and vowed to work with police and other authorities to get to the bottom of how and why the tragedy occurred. "I extend my sympathies to those affected by this tragedy and to the family of the person who has died," Cr Moore said. "The City will work with the police and other relevant authorities to better understand what has happened.

"As our city continues to evolve and change, we’ll continue to work with residents and the NSW Government to advocate for lower speed limits and for streets that are safe for all road users, especially pedestrians." Botany Road closed for hours Botany Road was closed in both directions until shortly before 4pm, causing significant delays for drivers and public transport users. While southbound lanes have reopened, all northbound lanes remain closed at Epsom Road while an extensive cleanup continues and repairs are carried out to damaged traffic lights.