10.15am. David Pou collects belongings from his ruined Hilux. Photo / Michael Cunningham
10.15am. David Pou collects belongings from his ruined Hilux. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A Northland family escaped with "bumps and bruises" after their car plunged down a bank to avoid a logging truck coming around a bend on the wrong side of the road, police say.
It was one of a number of road crashes that kept Whangarei Police busy yesterday.
Joanne andDavid Pou and their daughter Cleveland, 13, were driving on Wright Rd towards Pipiwai at 10.15am when the truck heading in the opposite direction came around a bend, cutting the corner.
"We had nowhere to go, there was no room, our wheels ended up over the bank," said Joanne Pou, who was driving at the time.
The crumpled Toyota Hilux after it plunged down a bank. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The truck's trailer came closest to the car, and the vehicles missed each other by a whisker, she said.
The Toyota Hilux was crumpled and smashed after rolling down the bank three times before coming to rest on rocks and in a creek.
The family had to struggle to get out of the vehicle and climb the bank.
Whangarei constable Chris Dunbar confirmed the driver of the fully laden log truck had crossed the centre line while taking the tight bend. No charges have yet been laid, Dunbar said.
The winding section of Wright Rd where the crash happened is double-laned with a line down the middle.
The truck driver gives a statement to police after the Wright Rd crash. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Crashes keep cops busy in Northland
Police were also called to a crash at a central city intersection about 1pm.
Northland's top traffic officer Inspector Wayne Ewers didn't have far to go to get to the crash, which was outside the Whangarei Police Station on the intersection of Walton and Cameron Sts.
A vehicle travelling south on Walton St turning right into Cameron St collided with a vehicle going straight through the intersection. Both vehicles had a green light.
No one was injured but there were traffic delays.
A two-car collision on a busy city intersection just outside Whangarei Police Station saw a man issued with infringement notices. Photo / John Stone
Police pushed one of the vehicles off the road and directed traffic around the other. Both were towed away.
A 20-year-old male driver, from Kamo, will get a ticket for failing to give way, which attracts a $150 fine, and for being an unaccompanied learner driver, a $100 fine and 35 demerit points.
Just before 10am on Otaika Rd a vehicle travelling south collided with one that stopped to turn into Matipo Pl.
Police attend a crash on Otaika Rd where it appears a southbound vehicle collided with another waiting to turn into a side road. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Young children were in both vehicles but no one was injured. Police are considering if tickets will be issued or charges laid.
