Four people were taken to hospital after a horrific three-car smash on the outskirts of Wanganui yesterday.
One victim was left with critical injuries and another man and a woman with moderate to serious injuries. A 7-year-old boy suffered minor injuries.
The crash happened on State Highway 3 at the turn into
Windermere Gardens at Westmere, 10km north of Wanganui, at 12.50pm yesterday.
Wanganui Acting Sergeant Steve Cameron said a woman driving a late model Audi with her son strapped into a child's seat in the back was turning right across SH3 into the berry farm, when she was involved in a collision with two different cars, one after the other.
Mr Cameron said it was amazing no one was killed.
"She was fantastically lucky she was driving a well-built, safe European design car."
The little boy was trapped in his child seat inside the car until firefighters could cut him out.
"The seat saved him. It's just as well no one was in the front passenger seat because they wouldn't have survived," he said.
A power company worker up a ladder doing repairs on a line next to the driveway could not believe his eyes when he saw the accident.
"I heard this huge bang and saw this car spinning around and other cars crashing."
The man, who did not want to be named, jumped down and ran to one of smaller cars, where he saw the driver strangling in his safety belt.
He released the belt.
Two young women, who had just finished work at the berry farm and had rounded the corner of the driveway of the farm on to the road, said they came upon what looked like total carnage.
"There was blood everywhere - it was hideous," one said.
An ambulance spokesman said he was amazed there had not been a fatality.
"It was a terrible smash."
The little boy travelled in the ambulance with his mum to hospital but, instead of being wheeled in on a gurney, one of the ambulance officers piggy backed him in.
"And he loved it. He's fine, just a few wee scratches." The Chronicle understands the woman and little boy are from New Plymouth.
One man is understood to be a German tourist and the other man is from Wanganui.
Northbound traffic was diverted through Blueskin Rd and southbound through Kai-Iwi Valley Rd while the crash site was being cleared.
