Driver still critical after ute plunge in Wairoa

Photo / File

A 53-year-old farm manager from Tuai remains in a critical condition after the vehicle he was driving left a rural road and plunged 30 metres down a steep bank.

Police said the crash occurred on Saturday night on SH38, about 20km west of Wairoa near the intersection of Clifton and Lyall Rds. The highway leads to Lake Waikaremoana.

The vehicle's sole occupant, a 53-year-old man, is thought to have remained in his vehicle overnight with serious injuries.

A jogger in the area alerted police about 10am Sunday when they spotted the man's vehicle.

Police arrived at the scene to find the ute lodged upside down against the bank. The driver was found a short distance away from the vehicle.

Police say it appears the man was driving home when he ran off the road on a left-hand corner.

The Wairoa Fire Brigade attended and used a line to winch the man up the bank in a stretcher due to the steepness of the bank.

The Gisborne-based Eastland Rescue Helicopter flew the man to Waikato Hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said he was still in a critical condition in the intensive care unit yesterday.