A seriously injured woman who spent more than three days trapped in a wrecked car with two dead bodies was only discovered tonight when a truck broke down near the accident site.
Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter pilot Brent Williams said the 46-year-old woman was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle which left
State Highway 5, the Napier-Taupo Rd, halfway between Te Pohue and the Mohaka Bridge.
The male driver and female in the back seat apparently died in the crash, which happened on Sunday morning.
"It's just incredible that she has survived," he said.
"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have survived another night, and she's incredibly lucky that a truck happened to break down in just that spot."
The vehicle had left the road without trace, gone down a 7 to 8 metre bank and landing upside down in blackberry bushes.
Mr Williams said it was "completely camouflaged".
"The truck driver thought he heard a cow moaning and went to investigate. That's when he found the vehicle and the woman calling for help."
The truck driver was able to call for help as soon as he found the vehicle, just after 6pm.
The woman was conscious and able to talk to rescuers.
She was flown to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital in Hastings in a critical condition with burns, fractures and hypothermia.
Emergency services were still at the scene tonight.
- NZPA, HERALD STAFF
