Driver tells of horror moment truck begins to tip on highway

The driver of a truck that rolled on State Highway 29 near Tauranga today has spoken about the moment he felt the vehicle start to tip.

Martyn Taranaki said he was driving up the Kaimai Ranges when he overtook another truck.

"As I pulled in, just went too far over to the left and caught a bit of the edge in the road," he told the Bay of Plenty Times at the scene.

He said it threw the front wheel of the truck into the ditch and dragged the vehicle in a little bit.

"So I over-corrected that and that's when the tail started to swing and so as it over-corrected to come back around again, I felt the truck slowly tilt over and I was ok, I knew then that it was just going to go – it was just going to roll."

The truck was on its side, blocking a double lane heading towards Hamilton. Photo/Bay of Plenty Times

The truck ended up on its side blocking a double lane heading towards Hamilton.

Traffic was backed up and moving slowly in one lane and emergency services were at the scene, a Bay of Plenty Times reporter said a short time later.

Taranaki said as the truck began to tip, he grabbed the top of the hand rail and waited.

He said it rolled over and "fell flat on its side".

He was not injured.

"And I praise God because I believe in Christ our Lord Jesus, so I'm believing that he had a hand in that – in keeping me safe."

Traffic was backed up and was moving slowly in one lane. Photo/Bay of Plenty Times

The police confirmed two eastbound lanes of State Highway 29 were blocked after a truck rolled near the summit on the Tauranga side.

Emergency services were advised of the incident just before 10.15am.

The police said no one was injured as a result of the incident.

Traffic was moving soon after, but delays were expected for the following two hours.