Truck hits herd of cattle on Napier-Taupō highway

Truck driver Geoff Martin was left shaken but unharmed when he rounded a bend near Eskdale and hit three cattle blocking the road near midnight. Photo / Geoff Martin

A truck driver was told he could have died if he was in a car after he hit a herd of cattle blocking State Highway 5 near Eskdale.

On Friday afternoon, Geoff Martin was still trying to locate the owner of the animals which caused chaos for hours on the Napier-Taupō road on Thursday.

Martin was driving his truck near midnight when he rounded a bend near the Eskdale War Memorial Church and came across cattle.

“There were at least 11 on the road when I came around the corner. I pulled to the left as much as I could, even going onto the grass edge,” Martin said.

Despite his efforts, his truck hit three and two later had to be put down due to their injuries.

“I was a little shaken but happy I missed most of them.”

“(The) passenger side took most of the hit, lucky she’s a Kenworth and is a very strong truck.”

He did not require medical attention and the truck damage was mostly cosmetic - one headlight and some panel damage.

“[I] was told by the police they were glad it was a large truck and not a car as the cows would have gone through the windscreen and it probably would be fatal.”

He had been told 30 cows had been located.

The cattle owner will have “a big bill coming his way”.

A police spokeswoman said police responded to the incident just past midnight.

The spokeswoman said police had contacted the cattle owner, who helped re-capture them.

She said a number of cattle were still unaccounted for at 6.45am on Friday.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz