Truckie walked away with minor injuries after his cab was detached from its chassis following a collision with another truck.
Truckie walked away with minor injuries after his cab was detached from its chassis following a collision with another truck.
Joan Marshall could not believe what she was seeing ... a man in a flourescent vest scrambled out from a crumpled ball of steel at the scene of a horror truck smash south of Whanganui yesterday.
The Makirikiri Road resident - one of the first on the scene of the two-truck crash - said the driver "should buy a Lotto ticket" after escaping what police initially thought was a certain fatal collision.
Miraculously the driver received only minor injuries - a small amount of blood visible on his forehead. The driver of the other truck was unhurt.
The two trucks collided at the intersection of State Highway 3 and Makirikiri Road, south of Turakina, shortly after midday.
Southbound traffic was diverted at Turakina through Marton and westbound traffic at Pukepapa Road, also through Marton. A section of Makirikiri Road was also closed, and diversions remained in place late yesterday.
Ms Marshall said she was alerted to the crash by a loud graunching sound.
"I didn't see it happen but I certainly heard it," said Ms Marshall, whose home sits about 300 metres from the crash scene.
"By the time I saw what had happened, the cab was detached from the truck and was a crumpled ball of steel.
"I saw a man in a flourescent vest trying to climb out ... the poor bugger was walking along the road in a daze."
She praised a woman driving a Whanganui Vet Services car who stopped to help the driver while Ms Marshall rang for help.
It was the second accident in as many days at the intersection, she said.
"There have been so many close shaves here. The state highway jumps up on you a bit as you come over the brow of Makirikiri Road but I don't think that's the problem.
The remains of the driver's cab, ripped away from its chassis after two trucks collided South of Whanganui on Wednesday.
"I don't think people take enough care - you've got to watch what you are doing."
Police at the scene had no official comment but one officer said he was certain he was attending a fatality as he came upon the scene.
