Truck driver's leg crushed in crash

FILE

A truck driver has been critically injured following a crash in the central North Island overnight.

A heavy truck and trailer unit came off the road on State Highway 5, around 2km east of the scenic lookout at Waipunga Falls, around 3.20am, Inspector Chris Tate, of the police northern communications centre said.

The driver suffered critical injuries in the crash, Mr Tate said.

No other vehicles were involved, and there was no-one else on board the truck.

The Taupo-based Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was called to the scene of the crash in the Waipunga Gorge.

The driver was trapped inside the truck, and the road was closed for around four hours while emergency services worked to free the man from the overturned vehicle, the rescue chopper said.

He was flown to Waikato Hospital with multiple injuries and a severely crushed leg.

The 62-year-old man was under assessment in Waikato Hospital's Emergency Department, a hospital spokeswoman said.