2.00pm
A van driver was seriously injured when a trailer broke free from a truck and the four-tonne container it was carrying landed on the roof of the vehicle in central Auckland this morning.
Inspector Barry Smalley of police northern communications centre said the accident happened about 11.05am, when the truck and
trailer unit was travelling on an overbridge on Lower Hobson St.
The trailer came loose from the truck and flipped over and the container fell on top of a van travelling on Sturdee St.
Lower Hobson St was cordoned off for several hours and emergency services worked for forty-five minutes to release the trapped van driver, who sustained serious injuries which were not believed to be life-threatening.
Seargant Brian Locke of the Police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit said the accident could have been worse for the driver.
"If the container had landed 12 inches further back on the van he wouldn't be here," he said.
He said everything about the truck would be looked at by police including the vehicle's condition and the load configuration inside the container.
- NZPA, Staff reporter
