Woman critical after crash
One woman in a critical condition was being airlifted to Waikato Hospital following a twovehicle crash on State Highway 2 south of Waihi last Friday.
The woman was freed from the wreckage of a head-on collision between a truck and a car.
Fire and Emergency northern communications shift manager Craig Dally said the head-on crash was on State Highway 2 near Old Tauranga Rd.
He said one person was trapped but had been freed and was in the care of paramedics.
Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after midday. Two volunteer fire crews from Waihi attended.
Earlier, police said in a statement that there were indications at least one person was seriously injured.
They said the car was heading north and is believed to have crossed the centre line into the path of the south bound truck.
The female driver was airlifted to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries. The truck driver escaped injury.
Diversions were in place at Waihi Beach Rd and Athenree Rd and a section of SH2 was closed for some time.
A woman who was one of the first people on the scene told the Bay of Plenty Times it looked like the car and the truck had collided head-on. She said the car’s front wheels were collapsed underneath the truck.
The driver of the car, who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s, was underneath the truck.
“I called 111 and stayed on the phone until emergency services got here,” the woman said.
The rescue helicopter was on scene and the road was closed, the woman said.
She was shaken after the incident, and said the crash victim looked badly injured.
A reporter at the scene said she could see a truck with two trailers on the road. The Waikato Police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.