One critically injured after car plunges 40 metres down bank near Whatatutu

Emergency services were called to Whatatutu Rd on Sunday night after a car left the road near the township and plunged 40m down a steep bank, landing on its roof. Photo / File

A person was left with critical injuries on Sunday night after the car they were in plunged 40 metres down a bank in the Gisborne District.

The crash happened at around 7.30pm on Whatatutu Rd, near the Whatatutu township.

“The bank was nearly sheer, and the car ended up in a paddock,” a senior firefighter said.

People inside had to be assisted from the vehicle.

“The car went down the bank on its wheels much of the way before it ended up on its roof.”

A St John ambulance spokesman said on Monday there was a young person in the vehicle taken to hospital with critical injuries.

“One other person was treated at the scene.”

Fire crews from Whatatutu, Te Karaka and Gisborne, and police and St John responded to the crash.

Earlier that day, firefighters were called to assist a woman trapped in mud in the Taruheru River.

The incident happened about 2.30pm Sunday, in Gisborne’s Nelson Park.

“The woman had been walking her dog, and the dog went for a swim in the river,” a senior station officer said.

“The animal became stuck in the mud, and when the woman went to rescue it, she became trapped in the mud too.

“Another person with the woman raised the alarm and called for help.”

A couple of firefighters went into the river and pulled her out.

The dog was able to get out of the mud on its own.