A 19-year-old man was lucky to walk away with only minor injuries after the ute he was driving flipped down a 20m hill after a collision on Warner Rd in Oropi last night. Photo / George Novak
A 19-year-old man was lucky to walk away with only minor injuries after the ute he was driving flipped down a 20m hill after a collision on Warner Rd in Oropi last night. Photo / George Novak
The driver of a ute that plunged 20m down a hill after a collision with another car surprised onlookers by escaping the wreckage and then scaling back down to fetch his belongings.
The man's ute and another car collided on Warner Rd in Oropi about 5pm yesterday, which resulted inthe ute crashing over a bank and rolling 20m down a nearby hill.
The male driver, who was the sole occupant, managed to free himself from the wreckage before climbing up the steep hill to the road. Passing motorists and people from neighbouring houses had gathered at the accident scene by that stage.
Shortly after, the man scaled back down to the flipped vehicle to fetch his tool box, shoes and belongings before emergency services arrived.
Police and St John Ambulance staff were called to the scene just before 5pm where the driver was treated for minor injuries. He appeared shaken by the accident.
The occupants of the other car involved in the collision, a BMW, told the Bay of Plenty Times they had suffered some bruising as a result of the crash but were otherwise fine.
Bystanders lined the rural road assisting police with slowing down and directing oncoming cars.
Tauranga police Inspector Karl Wright St-Clair said the 19-year-old driver of the ute was "lucky to walk away".
"Given the extensive damage to the vehicle it sounds like he was lucky to walk away with only minor injuries," he said.
Mr Wright St-Clair said police were investigating the cause of the crash.
