Loose gravel on a recently sealed road may have contributed to a crash involving an 18-year-old woman who lost control, slammed into a pine tree and had to be cut free by firefighters.
Police, fire and ambulance staff were called to the crash on Snooks Rd, near the intersection with Wahakukopu Rd, about 9.45am yesterday.
Police serious crash investigator Senior Constable Warren Bunn said the woman, the sole occupant of the BMW, was heading towards Maungakaramea when she lost control on a right-hand bend at the bottom of a hill.
He said it appeared she might have lost control due to the loose metal on the road which had recently been tarsealed and then over corrected before going off the road and hitting a pine tree.
The rear passenger side of the car took the brunt of the collision. Firefighters used cutting equipment to free the woman while St John staff comforted her and gave her oxygen. Mr Bunn said the driver had been wearing a seatbelt.