Crashes cause mayhem on Bay of Plenty roads

Yesterday was a day of mayhem on Western Bay roads with at least six crashes of varying severity across the region.

The first crash was a minor one about 7.20am on Welcome Bay Rd between a car and a bus, just past the Welcome Bay shops.

This was followed soon after by a fatal two-truck crash on State Highway 2 in Pongakawa and, at almost the same time, a car and truck crashed outside Bayfair with no injuries.

Later in the afternoon, three crashes in different parts of the city happened between 3pm and 4pm.

In Judea, a car collided with three other cars and glanced off a building, damaging a gas fixture, in Birch Ave. On the Te Puke Highway near Bell Rd, a light truck, van and car crashed and a woman was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

The 69-year-old woman suffered serious arm and leg injuries and had to be cut from her vehicle then airlifted to Tauranga Hospital by the Trustpower TECT Rescue helicopter. A spokesman for the TECT Rescue Helicopter said everyone else involved in the crash escaped with minor injuries.

The road was closed while emergency services cleared the scene.

At the Moffat Rd and SH2 roundabout in Bethlehem, three cars collided and the Tauranga-bound lane was briefly closed.