Lucky escape after Hawke's Bay crash

Three women involved in the two-car crash on the Hawke's Bay expressway were discharged from hospital last night.

Emergency services were called to the scene about 1.20pm, where a car and ute had crashed on the expressway between Prebensen Drive, and the Watchman Rd intersection.

A St John Ambulance spokesman said the three people involved in the crash were taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital.

Initially two of them were in moderate conditions, and one was in a serious condition.

A hospital spokeswoman said last night all three women taken to hospital had since been discharged.

The crash resulted in a section of the road being closed after the ute had come to rest down the grassy embankment, while the grey car had rolled, blocking the lanes of the expressway.

The road was closed for just over an hour yesterday, as emergency services worked to clear the scene of the crash.

Its cause was unknown at this stage.

The ute had been working as traffic management for a Triathlon Hawke's Bay event in the vicinity of Pandora Pond yesterday.

A trailer towed by the ute - carrying cones and signs - appeared to have sustained serious damage in the crash.

Tri HB general manager Mike Bond had stopped at the scene yesterday, but had no comment to make about the crash.

In April last year, a fatal crash occurred on that stretch of the expressway, when 8-year-old James Crous died as a result of a nose-to-tail.