Couple flee sinking car in creek crash
A young couple had a narrow escape on Auckland’s North Shore yesterday afternoon when their car left a gravel road, plunged into a creek and sank.
A woman driving the vehicle climbed onto the roof as her husband and neighbours summoned help.
The couple said the crash in Wainui, near Silverdale, left them with a big financial mess just six weeks before Christmas.
Only a few centimetres of the car were above the waterline after the Gervin Rd crash.
‘‘She was pressing [the brake pedal] but the car didn’t f ..... stop,’’ the woman’s partner said.
‘‘I didn’t know what the hell was going on.’’
She stayed on the roof because she did not want to get wet.
He said the couple spent $5000 on the Honda SUV, but had only basic insurance.
‘‘We’re going to have to sell it for parts.’’
He said the road was known to have had several crashes and ‘‘heavy trucks creating tonnes of dust’’.
His landlord said some locals had repeatedly asked authorities to improve the road.
Local resident Joe Dragicevich went to help the couple with a ladder after another neighbour raised the alarm.
Dragicevich said the driver had only a small cut to her hand.
‘‘She seemed fine, just a bit shaken up.’’
His wife Rebecca said there had been multiple crashes at the same location.
‘‘The council needs to do
‘We’re going to have to sell it for parts.’ PASSENGER IN SUV CRASH
something.’’
She said an apparent barrier by the creek consisted of no more than a few pieces of painted wood.
Authorities should consider tarsealing the road and reviewing its speed limit, which she understood was 100kmh.
‘‘Even just walking, it is so slippery.’’
The car might not be removed till tomorrow, and either two trucks or a crane could be needed to get it out.