The woman (61) is pictured being helped from the wreckage of her car, shortly after the crash. She had been travelling from Cromwell to Clyde on State Highway 8 in a Toyota Rav 4, when her car left the road at Robertson Creek, about 4km from Clyde.
It went over the top of a wire rope safety barrier, rolled several times, and came to rest partially submerged in the lake.
"The vehicle was stopped from being completely submerged only by the fact that it hit a large rock. The rock was the only one in that area," Sgt Kerrisk said.
The woman was able to get out of the vehicle and was treated by ambulance staff at the scene. She was being assessed at Dunstan Hospital last night, he said.
The cause of the accident was still being investigated, but speed and alcohol were not factors, Sgt Kerrisk said.
