A motorist on became trapped in his car this morning as it lay on its roof in a river embankment about 40 feet below a bridge along Highway 19 near Hilo, Hawaii County Fire Department officials said. 

A bystander helped the man out of his four-door sedan before rescue personnel arrived, officials said. 

The cause of the 9:50 a.m. crash, which occurred near mile marker 6, remains under investigation.

Once on the scene, fire rescue personnel secured the man in a rescue basket and raised him to the road using rescue ropes, officials said. He was then transferred to a gurney and taken to Hilo Medical Center.