Truck driver survives 150m slide

A driver survived a 150m slide along a ditch in a truck laden with 20 tonnes of cement mix after it veered off State Highway One yesterday.

The man was heading to Auckland when his truck left SH1, near Mata, about 22km south-east of Whangarei, at 1.30pm.

The truck slid on its left side in a 2m deep ditch for 150m before it came to a halt.

It stopped about 50m from a white cross marking the site of a fatal road smash about 12 years ago.

The truck driver, in his early 40s, was taken to Whangarei Hospital with moderate head injuries.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)