Takitimu Drive is a busy highway in Tauranga. Emergency services have been called to reports of a cyclist hit by a car there this afternoon. Photo/file
Takitimu Drive is a busy highway in Tauranga. Emergency services have been called to reports of a cyclist hit by a car there this afternoon. Photo/file
A dog was killed on Tauranga's Takitimu Drive today as it tried to reach its owner cycling beside Waikareao Estuary.
The owner of the ute that ran over the border collie cross said he saw the dog jump over the barrier on the city side of Takitimu Drive. He wasdriving towards the Harbour Bridge, about halfway between Waihi Rd and Elizabeth St.
As he slowed down to miss the dog, a logging truck that had not seen the animal passed him on his left.
"It spooked the dog because the next thing I know it ran under my ute."
The man, who asked not to be named, did not know how the dog came to be separated from its owner on the opposite side of Takitimu Drive.
"The owner was super upset, it must have been a much loved dog."
He understood the dog owner was on his way to pick up a child from school when the accident happened.
Other vehicles pulled over to help including a woman who produced a boogie board. The dog was laid on the boogie board and covered with a towel before being carried off Takitimu Drive.
