Emergency services were called to scene near the intersection of State Highway 1 and Arowhenua Station Rd around 2.30pm.
Emergency services were called to scene near the intersection of State Highway 1 and Arowhenua Station Rd around 2.30pm.
The sound of tyres skidding on the highway and the impact of a van colliding with a car is something Jeremy Reuben will never forget.
The Timaru man was travelling along State Highway 1 between Timaru and Ashburton on Wednesday afternoon, with his partner and their two children, when ahorrific crash unfolded in front of them.
The crash claimed the life of 80-year-old Geraldine woman Ann Margaret Jones.
Reuben was travelling north when a car in front of him pulled to the side of the highway.
He said it looked like Jones [the driver] then tried to make a u-turn but an approaching van collided with her vehicle.
"I thought a truck coming from the other direction was going to go straight through the middle of them, but he locked up and there was a cloud of smoke for about 60m.
"It was horrific. As soon as the van hit her I knew it wasn't going to end well that's for sure."
Reuben said he veered his four-wheel-drive on to the grass and "flew out of the truck" to try and help.
"I got my partner to ring the ambulance straight away," he said.
He said there were about seven people trying to help while he climbed through the window of the badly damaged car.
"I just went with my instinct and tried to do anything I could."
Emergency services were called to scene near the intersection of State Highway 1 and Arowhenua Station Rd around 2.30pm.
Inside he found Jones and a male passenger, believed to be her son.
"I was talking to him the whole time and making sure he was all right.
"He told me she had just picked him up from the hospital.
"I felt quite helpless, which was not a good feeling."
