Logs block coast highway

Picture supplied

There was another crash that involved a log truck this morning when a loaded truck and truck unit tipped over on State Highway 35 at Whangara, spilled logs across the road and into nearby paddocks.

Emergency services were called out at about 7.10am, with police, a Fire and Emergency NZ crew from Tolaga Bay, and a St John ambulance from Gisborne in attendance.

The truck and trailer lost its entire load in the crash.

“The driver, a man aged 50, was not injured,” A St John spokeswoman said.

“We checked him over and he was OK.”

The spilled logs rolled for some distance down both sides of the road, and for some distance along adjoining paddocks after crashing through fences.

Local farmer Peter Reeves saw it happen.

“I heard a crash and looked across to the road in time to see the truck and trailer sliding along the middle of it, spilling logs as it went.

“It’s the biggest spread of logs from a crash that I have seen.

“Some of them bounced and rolled about 150 metres. They’ve gone through two of our fences and into two of our paddocks,” Mr Reeves said.

His grandchildren were on the way down to the front gate to catch the school bus just minutes before it happened.

“They would have been only a few metres away from the spilling logs if they had been at the gate.”

Mr Reeves drove down to the crash site immediately.

“I was so relieved to see the driver was OK.”

Traffic was able to keep moving along the grass verge alongside the crash scene.