Seven people in car when it lost control and rolled, leaving one woman critically injured

A woman was critically injured after being thrown from a car as it lost control on a bend, hit a power pole and rolled on a rural road yesterday.

A police spokeswoman said there were seven people in the car when it crashed, coming to a stop on its roof on the side of the road.

The crash happened 3.30pm on a bend at the southern end of Te Matai Rd, halfway between Tauranga and Rotorua.

Aside from the critically injured woman, the car's occupants escaped with either minor or no injuries and were talking to police.

The police Serious Crash Unit was investigating the cause of the crash. Early indications were that speed was a major factor in the crash, she said.

Senior Sergeant Glenn Saunders of Tauranga police said at the scene that the seriously injured woman had been thrown from the car during the crash.

The 36-year-old was in a critical condition when she was airlifted to Waikato Hospital by the Rotorua-based BayTrust rescue helicopter about 4.30pm.

It was understood a member of the public took some occupants of the car to hospital before emergency services arrived, leading to initial confusion over how many people had been in the car when it crashed.

Ngongotaha fire station officer Lance Taylor said paramedics treated two injured people at the scene.

He said no one was trapped in the vehicle when the fire service arrived. The car had hit the power pole, he said.

Fire crews attended from Tauranga and Rotorua, as well as an operational support crew.

Te Matai Rd was closed for a few hours while emergency services worked at the scene.