Teenager struck by car on expressway

A 15-year-old Napier boy is lucky to be alive after being struck by a car on the SH50 Expressway in Napier on Saturday afternoon.

Despite leaving clumps of hair in the car's smashed windscreen, and multiple dents on its bonnet and roof, the teenager spent just one night in Hawke's Bay Hospital and required only minor surgery to remove glass from parts of his face before being discharged.

The first police to arrive at the scene had taken one look at the damaged car and immediately closed the expressway and called in the Serious Crash Unit - fearing they could be dealing with the second fatal on the stretch inside a week.

A 25-year-old Hastings woman died the previous Sunday after her car crashed into a ditch.

Sergeant Ray Wylie said there was initial confusion about the whereabouts of the injured boy - but it transpired a relative had come upon the scene just after it happened and had driven him to the Wellesley Rd Medical Centre. Staff there assessed the boy and arranged for him to be taken to hospital.

"It was just a fluke one of his relatives came along. She (the driver of the car) had gone to park off the road and in that time he was gone - a matter of seconds," Mr Wylie said.

The accident happened about 2.50pm as the boy tried to cross the expressway to get back to Atherfold Cres where he had come from.

Mr Wylie said the 26-year-old driver had seen the boy standing by metal roadside barriers and instinctively began to slow down.

As she drove by the boy darted out to cross from her left. She braked hard but was unable to avoid him.

Within seconds of the impact, and after the woman came to a stop, the boy got to his feet and appeared at her window.

"He told her he was sorry for what had happened."

Mr Wylie said the woman was left "very shaken and upset".

After closing the expressway, police began working to trace the injured boy, and received a call from the medical centre alerting them he had been there before going to hospital.

After being advised he was not seriously hurt the Serious Crash Unit was stood down and the expressway re-opened after about 20 minutes.

"He is very, very lucky," Mr Wylie said, adding the boy would be spoken to later today.

"Crossing an expressway is not advisable," he said.

"It is not a safe shortcut."

No charges had resulted from the incident.