Kelli Lynne Groves and her two daughters have been rescued from their car, which was teetering perilously on a California freeway bridge after a gravel truck rear-ended their car and plunged into a creek.

The truck hit the back of Kelli Lynne Groves’ BMW Thursday afternoon as she was travelling north on Highway 101 in southern California, causing the car to strike the bridge railing.

Kelli Lynne Groves, 36, and her two young daughters, aged 10 years and 10 months, dangled over the bridge awaiting rescue.

The impact from the accident caused Kelli Lynne Groves’ car to land on the centre of the concrete guard rail, KVEC Radio reports.

The big-rig truck, meanwhile, ploughed through the guardrail, falling into Nojoqui Creek and immediately bursting into flames.

The 48-year-old truck driver, whose name has not yet been released, died at the scene.

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The terrified family waited for an hour for rescue crews to extricate them from the wreckage, and received help in the meantime from a group of Navy Seabees who were stuck in southbound traffic.

The Seabees used a forklift they were transporting to stop the BMW from going over the bridge, KTLA reports.

Photos capture 10-year-old Sage Groves looking terrified as rescue workers fight to bring her to safety, and her mother, wearing a red top, crying as firefighters help pull her from the wreck.

The accident, which is currently under investigation, occurred along U.S. Route 101 in rural Buellton, about 25 miles north of Santa Barbara.

Because of the accident, the highway was closed in both directions.

The San Juan Capistrano family was taken to nearby Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries, 920kvec.com reports.