Car hits Pāpāmoa house, gas leak prompts evacuations

Two fire crews are currently at the scene where a car hit a house in Pāpāmoa. Photo / File

A car hit a house in Pāpāmoa, sparking evacuations because of a gas leak, and a woman was taken to Tauranga Hospital with a minor injury.

Emergency services were called to a single-vehicle crash on Matemuri Drive about 1.15 pm today.

“A vehicle struck a house, but thankfully the driver suffered only minor injuries and was being treated by an ambulance crew,” a police spokesperson said.

People were advised to avoid the scene.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Lauren Sik said two fire crews attended.

Sik said there were reports of a gas leak, and evacuations of the surrounding area have been carried out.

When a Bay of Plenty Times reporter arrived, several police and crew from two fire trucks were still on the scene, and a section of the road was cordoned off due to the gas leak.

A man, retrofitting windows at a property in the street, said he heard “yelling and screaming” from two women, and a white hatchback ended up on a grass area on a nearby traffic island.

“You could hear gas hissing for about an hour and a half coming from a gas valve that the car must have hit near the side of the house.”

The witness said he also saw a woman from the car limping towards a St John ambulance.

He said there was also damage to the fence at the same property

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said a woman, who sustained a minor injury, was taken to Tauranga Hospital from the scene.