Driver admitted to hospital twice
The 35-year-old Doubtless Bay woman whose car ended up on its roof in the middle of State Highway 1 at Awanui on Wednesday afternoon was taken to Kaitaia Hospital twice, first by St John ambulance, then by police.
She discharged herself the first time, and was seen running along Matthews’ Ave. Police found her a short time later and returned her to the hospital for further treatment.
Her injuries were not serious, according to police, while she refused to supply blood for alcohol analysis.
A police spokesman said the woman had been heading south a little before 5pm when she overtook a number of other vehicles, with very little room. When she returned to her lane she cut off the vehicle at the front of the line, then crashed into the drain opposite Dick Smith Loop Rd.
Her car flew some two metres into the air, rolling three or four times before coming to rest on its roof.
The driver was thrown out of the vehicle as it rolled.
Another motorist, who had been heading north, said her son was first to spot what was unfolding. She braked, she said, but had to reverse to avoid the tumbling car crashing into her vehicle.
The woman from the rolled car was found in a ditch unconscious and without a pulse. The other motorist was about to perform CPR when the woman groaned faintly.