Police search for driver after house falls off truck in Far North crash

A house fell off a truck in Kaikohe, blocking the road for parts of Tuesday and Wednesday. Photo / FNDC

Police are searching for the driver of a truck that crashed while transporting a house in the Far North.

The house fell off as a result of the crash and blocked part of Ōrakau Rd in the Punakitere Valley, south of Kaikohe, for several hours on Tuesday. Far North District Council contractors were still reviewing the situation by Wednesday morning.

A police spokesperson said they attended to the crash, which was reported around 7.40am on Tuesday, and were now making inquiries to locate the driver.

“The driver was not located at the scene and follow up inquiries will be made to speak with this person. The crash blocked most of Ōrakau Rd for most of Tuesday morning and was cleared by 10.44am.”

Asked if they were looking into whether the truck and house were stolen, police said, “nothing that we can substantiate at this point of time. The focus will be around identifying the driver”.

If anyone in the community does have information regarding any criminal offending taking place police advised that they report it to police.

The two/three-bedroom home suffered extensive damage and traffic management was put in place on Tuesday, limiting the road to one lane for cars.

Far North District Council said it appeared that the house hit a number of trees before coming off the trailer about 3.5km from Pokapu Rd, heading west.

“Traffic management was put in place, limiting the unsealed road to one lane for cars only, while contractor Ventia worked quickly to widen the road, cutting into the bank. By mid-afternoon, the road was wide enough to allow trucks to pass the damaged house.”

The road was reopened, for traffic in both directions, by Wednesday afternoon.