Crashes, injuries on city roads

A WOMAN was taken to hospital with serious injuries yesterday after her Toyota Starlet and another vehicle crashed headon in Portobello Rd.

The crash happened shortly after 3pm, near the Andersons Bay Sea Scout boat shed.

Two police cars were called to the scene and two fire crews cut the woman from the Starlet.

Two ambulances were called to the scene to take both the driver and two people travelling in the other car, a Mitsubishi Outlander, to Dunedin Hospital.

Acting Sergeant Steve Wykes, of Dunedin, said the woman had crossed the centre line as she drove around a corner heading towards Dunedin.

She was in her early 30s and appeared to be from Dunedin.

Her injuries were ‘‘definitely not lifethreatening’’ but she had several broken bones and was under sedation yesterday evening.

An offduty doctor stopped to help paramedics stabilise the woman and police were very grateful to her, Acting Sgt Wykes said.

The two women in the Outlander were unharmed, but had been taken to hospital for observation.

The front left side of the Outlander was badly damaged, and the entire front of the Starlet was smashed, with glass and other debris littered across the road.

The door of the Starlet had to be cut away, and Acting Sgt Wykes said he commended the Dunedin fire service for its work in getting the woman out of the car.

‘‘I’m extremely impressed with them, and the paramedics as well.’’

Yesterday evening the road was still closed while police waited for an accident recovery team to get to the scene.

Acting Sgt Wykes urged drivers to keep their eyes on the road and ignore distractions while they drove around Dunedin.

Officers also attended a minor crash in Andersons Bay Rd yesterday afternoon, a threecar pileup police said was caused by driver inattention.

‘‘[The driver responsible] will be going to court for driving offences,’’ Acting Sgt Wykes said.

A St John spokesman said one patient had been taken to Dunedin Hospital by ambulance, in a moderate condition.

Two other people had moderate injuries after a headon crash on the Jetty St overbridge yesterday morning.

A St John spokesman said the two were taken to Dunedin Hospital emergency department after the crash, to which police were called at 9.23am.

Emergency service officials said two cars had collided on top of the bridge.

Both lanes of the overbridge were blocked yesterday morning.

PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON Emergency services personnel inspect two vehicles involved in a headon crash in Portobello Rd yesterday, in which a woman in her early 30s was seriously injured.

Watch the road . . . Police blamed inattention for a nosetotail crash (left) involving three cars on Andersons Bay Rd yesterday afternoon. In the morning, two cars crashed on the Jetty St overbridge.