Whangārei family terrified as falling power lines hit car on Albert St

Dot Rauahi was driving with her family when power lines hit their car roof.

A Whangārei whānau were terrified when power lines fell on their car on a routine visit to the supermarket.

Dot Rauahi was with her husband, daughter, and 1-year-old granddaughter on their way to Pak’nSave when power lines hit their car roof on Albert St this afternoon.

Rauahi, who was sitting in the passenger seat with the window down, said there were “sparks everywhere”.

“Something fell on our roof – it went boom!

“I screamed because I thought I was getting electrocuted.

“I looked around and there [were] sparks on the power line.”

Rauahi said she phoned emergency services and her husband drove the family back home.

She was not sure if the car was damaged: “I haven’t looked on the roof yet.”

Northpower posted on social media that it was aware of an outage affecting the area.

The lines company asked anyone who heard or saw anything before the power went out to contact them.

“At this stage, please prepare for the power to be off for at least the next 60 minutes while we investigate.

“We will update when we know more.”

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.