Yet another 'Black July'

Quick thinking stopped a train from hitting this crashed truck in Huntly. Photo / Graham Clark

A firefighter who helped lift the body of a teenage girl from a car crash spoke yesterday of the horror of seeing "Black July" on the roads - for the second year in a row.

Fire officer Rhys Leek was among those who attended the accident in which the 18-year-old woman died. Her male passenger is in hospital.

The accident happened on Friday at 9.55pm after the car crossed the centre line and hit a concrete power pole on State Highway 5, near Rotorua.

The woman was one of three young Kiwis killed in a horror 24 hours on the road in which seven others were injured.

The accidents brought back memories of last year's "Black July" for many in Rotorua - two fatal accidents that killed two teens and put more than 10 others in hospital.

Leek lay the girl's lifeless body on a stretcher and carried her to the hearse.

"We lifted her from the car and laid her as dignified as possible. She wasn't that bad, but there's a lot of force when a car hits a power pole. She was gone before we got there," he said. "It's not a nice feeling. You try to put it in the back of your mind."

Leek's brother was killed several years ago in a car accident at age 19 and, with teenagers of his own, he said he goes to every accident hoping he does not recognise the car.

"That happened to a good friend of mine: he turned up at the scene and it was the car of a very close friend."

St John Ambulance paramedic Dave Jack said he had 13 years' experience and still grieved for every young life lost in a road accident.

"It's absolutely hideous for us. You arrive at the crash scene and figure out how many casualties there are and if there's someone who's a hopeless case you go to the others first. There's no point having someone else slip away while you treat them," he said.

"It's so preventable. You choose to have these horrendous accidents, by driving too fast or driving drunk or the rest."

This accident came just days before the first anniversary of the Rotorua crashes that led to locals calling the month Black July. That casualty toll mounted yesterday when a school van from Rotorua Girls' High crashed into a bank on Mamaku Ranges, north of the city. Two students were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

A year ago today, 12 teenagers were hurt in an accident - among them Jesse Howe, 16, who died from his injuries. Their number included former NZ's Next Top Model contestant Daisy Sparke.

Her grandmother Beth Sparke said, "It would be nice to hope that teenagers would take a bit more care on the road."

Road safety co-ordinator Jodie Lawson said the area's teens were getting the message about sober driving, but too many continued to drive on restricted or learner licences.

"They think they are doing the right thing because they are the sober one driving their friends home," she said.

"We're trying to say to them they're not invincible. The emergency guys are sick of cleaning up the mess."

And in Huntly, the quick thinking of 111 communications centre staff stopped a train from hitting a large produce truck that had crashed across the railway line.

The train was just two minutes away, police at the scene said.