IT was a day thousands of ­Sydneysiders wished they’d stayed at home.

There were car crashes, fires and kilometres of bumper-to-bumper traffic amid a downpour of rain that caused chaos and long delays for peak-hour commuters yesterday.

Thousands were stuck in traffic that didn’t move for hours after a man flipped his car inside the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, forcing emergency services to close down one of the major roads into the CBD at 7.25am.

Traffic delays stretched back for 9km from the southern exit of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel to the Lane Cove Tunnel. Bus passengers were forced to leave their buses and walk through heavy rain to work.

Police said a driver aged in his fifties began to feel ill at the wheel and attempted to merge left into a breakdown lane but instead slammed his car into a safety wall about 200m from the southern exit and rolled it onto his roof. The man was pulled from the car by a doctor in the car behind him. He suffered a minor injury.

Earlier a truck driver, 26, had to escape from his semi-trailer when it crashed into a median strip on Great Western ­Highway between Mt Boyce and Mt Victoria in the Blue Mountains about 1.45am.

The collision ruptured the fuel tank and his 30-tonne load of ­cotton burst into flames. It took firefighters all morning to bring the blaze under control.

The truck driver was taken to Nepean Hospital with a fractured ankle.

In Coolongolook, near ­Forster, a 25-year-old pedestrian was killed when he was hit by a truck on the Pacific Highway about 5am.

The driver will ­undergo mandatory testing.

FROM YESTERDAY:

SYDNEY HARBOUR TUNNEL CLOSES SOUTHBOUND AFTER CAR OVERTURNS

Leigh van den Broeke

ON a chaotic day for Sydney drivers, with the Harbour Tunnel closed and rain causing havoc, ambulances have been rushing from accident to accident.

Paramedics attended at least 40 traffic-related incidents from the morning to lunchtime today across the state in a frustrating commute for motorists.

At least 22 of these accidents were in the Sydney area and motorists were urged to drive safely during wet conditions.

A NSW Ambulances spokeswoman said there were three separate crashes where a car rolled over. They were in Emu Plains at 7.20am, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel at 7.25am and Grose Vale at 8.30am.

Police say the driver at the centre of the Harbour Tunnel nightmare was feeling unwell and misjudged his merge into the breakdown lane, driving up a safety wall and flipping his car, causing traffic chaos.

The accident sent Sydney traffic into gridlock, closing the Sydney Harbour Tunnel citybound for hours earlier this morning.

A doctor, travelling in a vehicle nearby, stopped and assisted the man until emergency services arrived.

How do you overturn a car in the Harbour Tunnel? Now that flummoxes even me! #sydneytraffic #SydneyHarbourTunnel — Paul (@Paul_Busch) June 5, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: How do you overturn a car in the Harbour Tunnel? Now that flummoxes even me! #sydneytraffic #SydneyHarbourTunnel & mdash; Paul (@Paul_Busch) June 5, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: How do you overturn a car in the Harbour Tunnel? Now that flummoxes even me! #sydneytraffic #SydneyHarbourTunnel & mdash; Paul (@Paul_Busch) June 5, 2014

#SydneyHarbourTunnel sth MVA has been cleared but traffic still heavy all nth appr's /also now raining. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/RcBi1XZYTO — Paul Walker (@pdwnews) June 5, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: #SydneyHarbourTunnel sth MVA has been cleared but traffic still heavy all nth appr's /also now raining. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/RcBi1XZYTO & mdash; Paul Walker (@pdwnews) June 5, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: #SydneyHarbourTunnel sth MVA has been cleared but traffic still heavy all nth appr's /also now raining. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/RcBi1XZYTO & mdash; Paul Walker (@pdwnews) June 5, 2014

The man, aged in his 50s, was not seriously injured.

The tunnel was closed while the wreckage was removed and oil on the road way cleared. There was also some minor damage to the tunnel that was repaired.

The tunnel, which has reopened southbound, remains congested.

Motorists were diverted onto the Harbour Bridge only for one lane on the Cahill Expressway to be closed due to a broken down car.

Some commuters were so frustrated with the traffic and desperate to get to the city that they abandoned all forms of transport and braved the grim walk across the bridge in the rain.

Juliette Saly tweeted: “#Sydney #traffic is fun! 1hr 45 mins to travel 7kms over Harbour bridge into city.”

Her thoughts were echoed by Benjamin Weinroth who posted: “1.5hrs on a crowded bus, only half way to CBD!!! Worried fellow commuters may resort to cannibalism soon.”

Giles Brunning suggested the city needed a quadruple bypass while Glenn Deans tweeted: “Fixed that for you. “@RednBlack_Boss: The worst part of #Sydney #traffic/#roads is the bit between point A and B”.

Exam starts in 5 minutes and I'm still stuck on the #warringahfreeway #sydney #traffic #nightmare pic.twitter.com/MTnEMZgtQJ — Matt Cameron (@mattyman225) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Exam starts in 5 minutes and I'm still stuck on the #warringahfreeway #sydney #traffic #nightmare pic.twitter.com/MTnEMZgtQJ & mdash; Matt Cameron (@mattyman225) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Exam starts in 5 minutes and I'm still stuck on the #warringahfreeway #sydney #traffic #nightmare pic.twitter.com/MTnEMZgtQJ & mdash; Matt Cameron (@mattyman225) June 4, 2014

SYDNEY: #SydneyHarbourTunnel now open s/b, traffic still busy. — Live Traffic Sydney (@LiveTrafficSyd) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: SYDNEY: #SydneyHarbourTunnel now open s/b, traffic still busy. & mdash; Live Traffic Sydney (@LiveTrafficSyd) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: SYDNEY: #SydneyHarbourTunnel now open s/b, traffic still busy. & mdash; Live Traffic Sydney (@LiveTrafficSyd) June 4, 2014

Emergency services were called to southern exit of the tunnel following reports of a car travelling in southerly direction overturning about 7.30am.

It is understood the driver was able to pull themselves from the wreck before being treated by paramedics at the scene and then transferred to St Vincent’s Hospital in stable condition with a minor neck injury.

Lane five of the Warringah Freeway was also closed to clear traffic.

The result has been a traffic jam that got as long as 9km back to the Lane Cove Tunnel and back as far as Seaforth in the north.

Buses travelling towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge and in surrounding areas are still experiencing delays. Some buses are using the Pacific Highway to access the bridge instead of the Gore Hill Freeway.

Buses divert and banked up on Miller Street #sydney #cityofsydney #traffic #harbourbrige #harbourtunnel pic.twitter.com/2zuiMD6Ah8 — Jim Bright (@TheFactoryPod) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Buses divert and banked up on Miller Street #sydney #cityofsydney #traffic #harbourbrige #harbourtunnel pic.twitter.com/2zuiMD6Ah8 & mdash; Jim Bright (@TheFactoryPod) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Buses divert and banked up on Miller Street #sydney #cityofsydney #traffic #harbourbrige #harbourtunnel pic.twitter.com/2zuiMD6Ah8 & mdash; Jim Bright (@TheFactoryPod) June 4, 2014

Sydney Traffic Accident - Sydney Harbour Tunnel closed; use Harbour Bridge - expect significant delays #sydtraffic #trafficnetwork — Sydney Traffic (@TrafficNSW) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Sydney Traffic Accident — Sydney Harbour Tunnel closed; use Harbour Bridge — expect significant delays #sydtraffic #trafficnetwork & mdash; Sydney Traffic (@TrafficNSW) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Sydney Traffic Accident — Sydney Harbour Tunnel closed; use Harbour Bridge — expect significant delays #sydtraffic #trafficnetwork & mdash; Sydney Traffic (@TrafficNSW) June 4, 2014

Bus tickets are being recognised on Sydney Trains within the CBD due to car accident in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel causing extended delays — T2 Sydney Trains (@T2SydneyTrains) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Bus tickets are being recognised on Sydney Trains within the CBD due to car accident in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel causing extended delays & mdash; T2 Sydney Trains (@T2SydneyTrains) June 4, 2014 Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Bus tickets are being recognised on Sydney Trains within the CBD due to car accident in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel causing extended delays & mdash; T2 Sydney Trains (@T2SydneyTrains) June 4, 2014

Meanwhile a report is being prepared for the coroner after a pedestrian was hit by a truck in the state’s north this morning.

About 5am emergency services were called to the southbound lanes of the Pacific Highway at Coolongolook.

On arriving they found the body of a 25-year-old man.

Inquiries are continuing into the events leading up to the crash.

The truck driver will undergo mandatory testing at hospital and he is also being treated for shock.

A three car pile up on the M4 at Orchard Hills has caused moderate traffic following the closure of one westbound lane while the Great Western Highway at Mt Boyce is closed in both direction after a truck crashed and caught fire this morning.