Man hurt in coast crash

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

THE emergency services were called to a spot on State Highway 35 past Whangara this morning after a vehicle left the road and struck a tree.

It happened at around 9am on the Tolaga Bay side of the Panikau Hill.

“A van left the road on a bend, hit a road side tree and slid down a bank,” a senior firefighter who attended said.

“The one male occupant of the van was status four with minor injuries when we arrived.

“He had seat belt lacerations and maybe an ankle injury.”

A St John ambulance from Gisborne transported him to hospital.

Tolaga Bay First Responders, a fire truck from FENZ in Gisborne and police also responded.