Truck overturns to avoid impact

A TRUCK carrying 44 gas cylinders swerved to avoid two cars on State Highway 29 - sending an oncoming van down a bank before overturning across the opposing lane.
The crash occurred just before 10am yesterday on the stretch of highway between the Poike Rd and Welcome Bay roundabouts.
The truck was travelling north when it overturned across the opposing lane, about 50m from the entrance to the Sanctuary Point motorcamp in a 100km/h speed zone. The LPG cylinders came to rest undamaged on the road and down the nearby bank.
The driver of the Rockgas truck and the sole male occupant of the Bedford van were both uninjured.
Police believe the truck driver had slammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid smashing into two cars which had stopped in front of him.
His brakes then locked and the truck turned on its side, collecting the oncoming van.
Police are unsure why the first of the two vehicles slowed but indicated they may have missed the entrance to the motorcamp or been trying to look at a car for sale on the side of the highway.
Both vehicles in front of the truck left the scene before emergency services arrived.
The driver of the truck - who did not wish to be named - was visibly shaken by the ordeal.
"I've just had to swerve and miss three cars to do this [overturn his truck] otherwise it would have been a lot worse.
"At the moment my main concern is getting these bottles out of the way so I cause no more injury to anyone," he said.
The van's driver, Lance Mayhall, ended up in the back of his Bedford following the crash. "The truck spun out of control, flipped on top of my van and sent me down the ditch," he said.
Traffic was diverted along Poike, Ohauiti and Welcome Bay roads, with the section of highway between roundabouts closed for about 90 minutes.
Nathan Webster was visiting Sanctuary Point when he saw the crash happen. "[The truck driver] tried to get away from the cars that had slowed down. I heard the brakes before the accident, he locked up. He slid for about 10 to 12m," said Mr Webster.
About half the gas cylinders were full but none were punctured during the crash.
Tauranga and Mount Maunganui Fire Brigades responded with the Rescue Tender and Hazardous Materials Unit.
Senior station officer Philip Price said: "We established fairly early that none of the cylinders appeared to be leaking. This reduced the hazard quite significantly."
Firefighters isolated the electrics in the truck and any other sources of ignition.
Mr Price said it was "quite miraculous" neither driver was injured in the crash.
Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said investigations were under way and no charges had been laid as yet.
Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the crash - including the drivers of the other vehicles on the stretch of road at the time. Contact Greerton Police on 578-3460.