A Warwick resident has shared how he jumped into the ocean to help rescue three passengers, including two children, from a car that crashed through a wall and ended up overboard this afternoon.

A section of Harbour Road in Warwick has reopened to the public after the car veered into the water at about 1pm leading to traffic diversions at Harbour Road’s intersections with Longford Hill and Keith Hall Road.

Police confirmed that the scene of the incident near the Harbour Road intersection with Harbour Road and Belmont Road had been processed after about five hours.

Darren Mills who lives nearby the scene of the incident said he swam out to rescue the driver and two children from the sinking car.

Mr Mills, 37, who works as a plumber, said he was at home on a phone call when he heard a loud “bang” at the roadside.

He told The Royal Gazette: “I go outside to investigate and the next minute, I see a vehicle in the water.

“I didn’t want to hesitate on anything like that, so I got into the water and swam towards the vehicle.”

According to Mr Mills, the car had been trapped right side-up on several underwater rocks.

He said that, after calling the police, he swam from a nearby dock to the car, pulled the driver and passenger out and helped them swim to the dock’s steps about a metre away.

Mr Mills said: “The thing that went through my mind was ‘you can’t waste time here — there are people in this vehicle and they’re shouting out the window that they can’t swim’.”

Mr Mills, who is originally from South Africa, said he was a recreational swimmer and surfer.

He added that he was lucky that the tide was low and that the car was in a position that garnered little resistance from the waves.

Mr Mills said: “It was very shallow where the vehicle went down.”

He added that the situation could have been much more serious had it been in deep water.

Mr Mills said that the passengers appeared shaken but were mostly uninjured.

Police confirmed that all passengers were accounted for and that they had been transported to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr Mills said that his neighbours, after hearing what he had done, hailed him as a hero, with many using the phase “not all heroes wear capes”.

However, he said: “At the end of the day, I’m just happy that everybody’s safe.”

Mr Mills added: “I’m so lucky that I was off today at work, the neighbours didn’t hear the crash, so who else would’ve been able to help them?

“They could have drowned or something terrible could have happened.

“I’m just very blessed to have been a first responder and that I could help them out of the water, and make sure everything was good.”