Woman airlifted to hospital after Kerikeri crash with camper van

St John medics apply emergency first aid while volunteers from the Kerikeri Fire Brigade work to cut the driver free after Tuesday's crash on State Highway 10. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A woman has been airlifted to Whangārei Hospital after a car and a campervan collided on State Highway 10 near Kerikeri.

The crash occurred about 12.20pm on Tuesday directly outside Redwoods Garden Centre.

Police, St John Ambulance and two crews from the Kerikeri Fire Brigade attended. The
Northland Rescue Helicopter landed in a field immediately behind Redwoods.

The driver and sole occupant of the Suzuki hatchback, believed to be an elderly woman, suffered serious injuries and had to be cut out of her car with hydraulic cutting equipment.

Her car sustained serious damage to the driver's side.

The campervan, which had been travelling south on SH10 and towing a boat, had damage to the front right corner. The male driver, also a sole occupant, was unhurt.

Sergeant Kevin Milne, of Mid North police, said the seriously injured woman had been flown to Whangārei Hospital.

The Serious Crash Unit had carried out an investigation to determine the cause. Neither speed nor alcohol was thought to have contributed.

Kerikeri fire brigade station officer Andy Hamberger said the volunteer firefighters had unhitched the boat, pulled the campervan off the car and secured it to another vehicle with a strop, then cut off the driver's door and the roof to extract the patient.