Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Hot rod and truck collide on SH2

By Kiri Gillespie
Bay of Plenty Times·
29 Sep, 2012 03:30 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


A Paengaroa grandfather has died while another man was left trapped and seriously injured after a hot rod collided with a truck at Pongakawa.

Police said the crash occurred about 3pm yesterday on State Highway 2 between Tainui Rd and Maniatutu Rd when the driver of a classic coupe lost control and veered head-on into an oncoming truck.

The stretch of highway was closed to traffic for several hours as emergency services worked to treat the injured man and clear the scene.

The driver of the hot rod died after being thrown from his vehicle in the impact of the crash, which crushed the truck's cab and pinned the truck driver to his seat.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The hot rod was crumpled underneath.

The man, whose name will not be released until police have notified next of kin, was a member of the Sulphur City Rod and Custom Club.

It is thought he was out preparing his car for a run with the Bay Rodders Tauranga this weekend.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

President Dean Anderson said the man had lived in the Te Puke and Paengaroa area for many years and had a large local family, including grandchildren.

Mr Anderson said the man was probably getting his car ready for the two or three hot rod runs scheduled for this weekend.

The news was devastating.

"It's quite hard because the hot rod community is pretty close-knit.

"We do a lot of runs together. We don't see each other every day but we do runs all the time and everyone is among like-minded people.

"Having this happen is a big shock."

Mr Anderson said hot rods were among the safest vehicles on the road and their drivers took great care to look after them.

"Most people have them and they are their babies," Mr Anderson said.

"Our cars have to be certified as safe cars.

"It's very unusual for something like this to happen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Even the ones that don't look like they should be on the road, they are very safe and have to be because they are inspected so often."

The Pukehina volunteer fire brigade was first on the scene, which fire chief Errol Watts described as "disastrous".

"The vehicle was pretty much right under the truck.

"It was pretty crushed. The truck driver was trapped in the truck."

Mr Watts said the hot rod was "completely unrecognisable".

It took Pukehina and Maketu firefighters about an hour before they were able to free the truck driver.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The front of the truck had been crushed in against his legs," Mr Watts said.

"He was very good. Obviously in quite a bit of pain but didn't flinch."

The 37-year-old man was flown by Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter to Tauranga Hospital with severe lower leg injuries.

A 28-year-old Tauranga man who was a front seat passenger in the truck was taken to Tauranga Hospital with an injured foot.

Diversions were put in place along Pongakawa School Rd and Maniatutu Rd.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

08 Jul 04:03 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

08 Jul 01:36 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

08 Jul 01:04 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

'It was unreal': Orca pod amazes Tauranga jetskier near Whangamatā

08 Jul 04:03 AM

The pod, including a large male, circled him and his group for about half an hour.

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

BoP shooting happened at 'private dwelling', suspect still wanted

08 Jul 01:36 AM
Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

Boat in perilous position in Tauranga Harbour

08 Jul 01:04 AM
'Risk to the public': Police search for wanted man

'Risk to the public': Police search for wanted man

07 Jul 11:57 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP