Bombay Hills accident blocks motorway

By LOUISA CLEAVE

Traffic heading back into Auckland was brought to a standstill at the Bombay Hills this afternoon after a fatal accident involving a truck, a tree and a building.

Police said the refridgerated truck crashed while travelling north on State Highway 1, at the beginning of the southern motorway.

Witnesses said the truck had crashed through a tree and into a building in the garden centre located on the left hand side of the motorway.

A Fire Service communications spokesman said the driver was trapped.

The tree caught fire and the blaze was heading towards the building when fire fighters put it out, he said.

Inspector Barry Smalley of the police Northern Communications Centre confirmed the driver had been killed.

He said one northbound lane was open as emergency staff worked at the scene.

A southbound motorist speaking to the Weekend Herald at 3.15pm said the traffic had banked up south to Pokeno.

A northbound motorist said it had taken 45 minutes to get from Pokeno to the accident site.