A Tauranga couple had a miraculous escape yesterday after their car dropped about 9m over a bank into the river at the Waihi end of the Athenree Gorge.
The elderly couple were returning from a wedding in Auckland when their car spun out near Firewood Bridge about 3.30pm, crossed the centre line, skidded for about 90m and went down a bank.
"We had to scale down to get the couple out of their car which bizarrely landed on its wheels in a narrow part of gorge," Waihi Chief Fire Officer Moe Stevens said.
The woman, who was badly shaken and in shock, and the man, who was complaining about a sore shoulder and was also shaken, were taken to Tauranga Hospital for a check-up.
Mr Stevens said he couldn't believe the couple had escaped without any serious injuries because their car, believed to be a Nissan Primera, was completely written off.
"This couple had a miraculous escape, for sure. If the car had landed on its roof, in a different part of the gorge or they had hit someone head-on, we would have been talking about a fatality."
Jim Purcell, of Purcell Panelworks, also a volunteer fire officer in the area, was called in to help retrieve the vehicle.
He said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the skid marks and where the couple's car came to rest.
"This couple were bloody lucky for sure, as the car landed almost as if a crane had lifted and placed it there.
"If it hadn't been summer and the river wasn't so low, or they had hit someone head-on, it would have been a far different story."
Miraculous escape for couple after car accident in gorge
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