Passengers thrown 15m as car smashes into pole

Two young Tauranga men were hurled up to 20 metres through the back window of a car they were passengers in when the vehicle's driver hit a power pole on Takitimu Dr.
The pair were seriously injured and police say they are lucky they did not die. The crash caused major traffic problems.
The Mazda RX7, driven by a 19-year-old Tauranga man, was travelling south from Marsh St into Takitimu Dr when he crashed into a power pole on the first moderate left hand bend at 3.07pm.
The two rear seat passengers, both unrestrained, went through the back window when the car hit the power pole and spun around.
One man landed on the grass verge after being thrown 15m and the other rolled across both south bound lanes before coming to rest against the median barrier 20m from the car.
Senior sergeant Ian Campion said both of the men were lucky to be alive.
"We're fortunate that we're not dealing with a double fatality and I urge all drivers just to drop their speed and keep their speeds down and drive carefully over the holiday break."
"It's just another example of the faster you go, the bigger the mess."
The driver and a front seat passenger were uninjured.
Mr Campion said police believed speed had been a factor in the crash.
The accident highlighted the importance for drivers to ensure passengers wear a seatbelt, Mr Campion said.
"Had they been wearing seatbelts, these passengers would not have been injured."
Police believed another car may have been accompanying the Mazda RX7 and wanted to speak to the occupants of that vehicle.
"We would ask the driver of a blue Datsun, Mitsubishi or Toyota that witnessed the crash and stopped for a moment following the crash to contact Greerton police on 578-3460."
Mr Campion said the crash meant Takitimu Dr had to be closed until about 5.30pm and the power pole had to be removed for safety reasons. "There were significant delays and disruption to traffic and police would like to thank drivers for their patience."
Massive traffic jams had already started earlier in the afternoon, caused by pressure on the Chapel St/Takitimu Drive intersection and Marsh St around to the Harbour Bridge roundabout.
Traffic had banked up on Takitimu Drive as far back as Elizabeth St by at least 1pm yesterday and manoeuvres at the Chapel St lights meant only two or three cars were managing to get through on each green phase.
One motorist reported taking 45 minutes to travel from Elizabeth St to Mirrielees Rd, Sulphur Point. She left Elizabeth St at 1.30pm.
Western Bay's Smart Transport co-ordinator John Hannah said he was not surprised at the traffic congestion.
"That is why we are spending several hundred million dollars on Harbour Link."
He explained that traffic volumes were growing by three or four per cent every year on Tauranga's main roads.
"Once you get on that slippery slope then it gets worse faster."
Mr Hannah said once a level of congestion was reached, such as at the Chapel St/Takitimu Drive intersection, it took just a few more vehicles to compound the problem.
Meanwhile a 17-year-old male was killed in a head-on collision near Napier last night, bringing the holiday road toll to three.