A Northland man has been seriously injured after fleeing from a crash at a notorious highway junction.
Yesterday's chaos started with a relatively minor accident at the intersection of State Highways One and 10 at Pakaraka, northwest of Kawakawa, just before 1pm.
However, one of the drivers is reported to have fled the crash scene, driving at speed up SH10 before losing control at the first bend, crossing on to the wrong side of the road, demolishing a sign and a fence, and finally colliding with a tree. Police said they would be requesting a blood sample for alcohol analysis.
The man's vehicle ended up among gum trees 500m from the junction where the original crash occurred. The impact had folded the car door around his legs, leaving the 61-year-old Kerikeri man trapped.
Firefighters from the Kerikeri, Kawakawa and Kaikohe brigades spent 40 minutes cutting the man free from the wreckage, while St John paramedics worked to keep him stable. He was then taken the short distance to Pakaraka School by ambulance, from where the Northland Electricity rescue helicopter airlifted him to Whangarei Hospital in a serious condition.
St John Kerikeri operations manager Nick Scott said the man's condition was initially assessed as critical. By the time he was on the chopper he had regained consciousness and was considered out of danger. "He was pretty heavily trapped by the legs. It looks like he's going to be a lucky boy."
The other vehicle was being driven by a 33-year-old Whangarei man. He and four friends had been heading home after holidaying at Broadwood, in North Hokianga. The man, who did want to give his name, said he saw the other car start turning in front of him. "He was turning real slow, just creeping along the road and looking straight at us. We left 50m of skid marks, the tyres were smoking. I tried to avoid him but couldn't."
The other driver had taken off at speed, and he and his friends had tried to chase him on foot. "But I could see he wasn't going to get far because of the damage to his car." They saw him crash into the trees and had tried to help him but he was too badly trapped.
The car he had belonged to his partner and had a fresh warrant of fitness, registration and tyres, but was uninsured. It was likely it would be written off, he said. A sergeant from the Kerikeri police Strategic Traffic Unit, who did not wish to be named, said the first driver had turned right into SH10 in front of a car heading south on SH1. The southbound car had hit the back of his vehicle, and it appeared he had tried to flee.
The second crash closed SH10 for about an hour-and-a-half, creating a long backlog of traffic. The Whangarei-based police Serious Crash Unit was called in to examine the two crash scenes.
The incidents are expected to renew local concerns about Pakaraka junction, the scene last year of several serious accidents.
In one case a car ended up in the playground of Pakaraka School, prompting the principal to ban children from playing in the area closest to the road.