Bay of Plenty emergency services kept busy in two-hour window

Emergency services responded to a crash on State Highway 2. Photo / George Novak

A man has died in a tree-felling incident on a rural property in Paengaroa, one of a series of serious incidents yesterday that kept emergency services busy over a two-hour period yesterday.Emergency services were called to the scene of a tree-felling incident, near the intersection of State Highway 33 with Allport Rd, shortly before midday yesterday.

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the organisation had been notified of a fatality at a property.

"A male has been fatally injured in a tree-felling incident. We are investigating," the spokeswoman said.

A police media spokeswoman said the death would be referred to the coroner.

A 75-year-old woman is recovering in Tauranga Hospital following a serious crash that shut down State Highway 2 north of Tauranga.

The two-car crash was reported to police at 11.50am at the intersection with Plummers Point Rd at Whakamaramara.

The highway was initially closed but one lane reopened at 12.45pm.

At about 11am, emergency services were called to a construction site on Truman Lane where a police media spokesman confirmed one person had died after what appeared to be a medical event.

Police thank bystanders

The actions of bystanders who helped a man in crisis off a Tauranga overpass have been commended by police.

Tauranga police took to Facebook on Monday night to publicly applaud the people involved.

A man "in crisis" had climbed over the railing of the Cambridge Rd overpass, which runs over State Highway 2 between the city and Bethlehem.

Police said in their post that traffic came to a standstill on the expressway underneath.

"Some local people pulled this man back over the railings to safety and held him until police could arrive," police said.

"A huge shout out and 'thank you' to these unnamed local heroes from the Tauranga police. You can be rightly proud of your actions! Thank you again!"

Whangamata couple Beryl and Hudson Brook were travelling towards Bethlehem about 6.30pm on Monday when traffic came to a stop near the overpass.

Beryl Brook said she initially thought there had been a crash as traffic in both directions was at a standstill.

"A guy came running down the road yelling that someone was on the bridge," Beryl Brook said.

"I looked up and there was a man ... on the outside of the bridge."

Brook said there were about half a dozen people on the overpass who acted quickly to help the man.

A member of the public ran away and came back with a tie-down strap, Brook said.

They then looped the strap down to reach under the man's feet.

"When they pulled the strap up it came under his arms and they pulled him over," Brook said.

"It was so frightening but the guys at the top did a really good job," she said.

The incident was over in about five minutes and once the man was safely on the overpass traffic started to move again, she said.