Teenager suffers leg injury in SH35 crash

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

A Gisborne teenager was taken to hospital by ambulance last night after the vehicle he was driving left State Highway 35 and crashed nose first into a roadside drain.

It happened at around 7.30pm Sunday night near Mangatuna Road north of Tolaga Bay.

“The 16-year-old teen suffered a moderate leg injury,” a Tolaga Bay firefighter said.

“He managed to get out of the vehicle on his own, which was quite a feat because the four by four vehicle was sitting at 180 degrees up on its nose in the drain.”

After initial treatment at the scene the youth was transported to hospital by a St John ambulance from Gisborne.

“He told us he had dozed off as he drove down to Gisborne from Ruatoria.”

The youth was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

Firefighters from Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay were also called to the crash, but they were recalled.

The hospital said this morning the youth was admitted and was in a stable condition.