Traffic was banked-up for several kilometres either side of a crash south of Whangarei on State Highway One yesterday.
The 1pm collision between a truck and car, about 1km south of the Portland turnoff, left one woman with injuries, not thought to be serious, and taken to Whangarei Hospital. The male
truck driver was unhurt.
The two vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when they collided, with the car hitting the driver's side of the truck, Whangarei police serious crash analyst Warren Bunn said. The car, which was heading north, ended up in a ditch on three wheels, with the fourth wheel about 130 metres down the road. The truck, which was heading south, ended up on its side and blocking one lane.
Emergency services blocked off both lanes for about 30 minutes to secure the scene and clean away debris.
They opened one lane but had to close both lanes twice more, to get the truck on its wheels and off the road, and to get the car out of the ditch. Both lanes were eventually opened at 4.10pm.
A relatively minor accident had caused inconvenience for many travellers, with traffic banked back about 8km to Whangarei, Mr Bunn said.
