Young driver cheats death after car splits in HALF and erupts into flames on Sydney highway

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 03:20, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 03:25, 18 May 2026 A young motorist is lucky to be alive after losing control of his car, which split into two and burst into flames on one of Sydney's busiest roads. Emergency services were called to the Hume Highway at Villawood in the city's south-west at about 9.30pm on Sunday, following reports of a fiery collision. It is understood that the 24-year-old man's sedan struck a hatchback before slamming into a power pole. The impact was so powerful that half of the sedan's wreckage ended up 200m from the crash site. Footage showed the injured sedan driver fleeing his burning vehicle moments later. He was assisted by passers-by and paramedics at the scene before he was transported to Royal North Shore Hospital suffering from burns and suspected fractures. The hatchback driver, 48, was taken to Liverpool Hospital for assessment. The impact of the collision snapped the power pole in half and brought down power lines. Dozens of homes were left without power, which has since been restored. A young motorist is lucky to be alive after his sedan split in half and burst into flames following a horror crash on the Hume Highway  The man's sedan hit a hatchback before slamming into a power pole The Hume Highway was closed in both directions for the rest of the night and did not fully reopen until 8am on Monday, which caused peak hour traffic delays. Police have launched an investigation into the crash, including whether speed was a factor. Anyone with information, or who has relevant dashcam or CCTV, is urged to contact Bankstown Police or Crime Stoppers. It's been a horror 24 hours on NSW roads. A woman in her 20s was killed after the car she was travelling in crashed into a power pole at Karangi, near Coffs Harbour on the NSW North Coast, late on Sunday night. Two other passengers survived and were taken to hospital. The driver underwent mandatory testing and was medically assessed. Meanwhile, an 87-year-old man has died in hospital following a crash involving a Nissan sedan and a bus at Bella Vista in Sydney's north-west on Sunday afternoon. The 52-year-old Nissan driver and two passengers, a 20-year-old man and the 87-year-old, were trapped in the wreckage. The 62-year-old bus driver was also trapped and was later taken to hospital in a stable condition. The Nissan driver and the younger passenger suffered minor injuries. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.