Car crash on Napier-Taupō Rd: Driver in hospital in critical condition

Crash investigators are still making inquiries into the cause of a crash on a notorious section of State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō.

The crash towards the Taupō end of what Waka Kotahi NZTA calls the Thermal Explorer Highway, and in a designated "High Crash Area" between Rangitaiki and Waipunga Falls, happened in fine weather about 12.40pm on Thursday.

The scene is also within the two-thirds of the highway on which the maximum speed limit will be reduced on February 18 from 100km/h to 80km/h.

The car was heading towards Taupō when the crash happened, its driver and sole occupant having to be extricated by fire rescue crews from Taupō before being flown by rescue helicopter to Waikato Hospital, where he was reported in a critical condition under intensive care on Friday afternoon.

The driver and sole occupant of the truck, from a Hastings company and heading to Hawke's Bay, was said by people at the scene to have been able to get out of his damaged vehicle and was not injured.

There have been no fatal crashes on the Rangitaiki-Esk Valley part of the highway since the start of a Stay Alive on 5 campaign almost 15 months ago.