Two flown to hospital after airborne car hits tree
Two people were airlifted to hospital after a car catapulted over a farm gate before striking a tree and landing in a paddock.
The single-vehicle crash happened on State Highway 10 about 9.30am on Tuesday, midway between Kerikeri and Kaeo, as the BMW sedan was heading north.
The female passenger, who suffered a broken leg, had to be cut out of the wreckage. The male driver’s injuries were not known. Both were flown to Whangārei Hospital.
Two Northland Rescue Helicopters landed on a hilltop less than 30m from the crash.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation but tyre marks and a debris trail suggest the BMW lost control on a sweeping right-hand bend, crossed on to the wrong side of the road, hit deep gravel on the shoulder and became airborne.
The car flew over a farm gate, which was undamaged, and left a gouge about 3m up a tree.
The BMW came to rest on its wheels in a paddock with the front bumper hanging from the tree. Damage to the car indicated a severe frontal impact.
Kāeo fire chief Jo Sweet-Bennett said firefighters attached a strop to the car to stop it rolling downhill while Kerikeri volunteers removed a door pillar so the passenger could be extracted. The Mangō nui brigade was called out but not required.
A St John spokeswoman said two ambulances and two helicopters were sent to the crash. One of the patients was in a moderate condition and the other serious, and both were flown to Whangārei Hospital.
Police also attended.
Traffic control at the scene was complicated by large numbers of cars and trucks using SH10 because SH1 is closed at Mangamuka Gorge.
The crash occurred about 500m south of the so-called “chicken stop” near the Matauri Bay turnoff.
Two more crashes were reported in the Far North later the same day, both near Kaitaia.
One on SH1 south of Kaitaia was reported at 11.56am, police said. No one was seriously injured, and the road was quickly cleared.
Another crash between a car and a motorcycle on Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd shortly after midday seriously injured a motorcyclist.
A police spokesperson said the motorcyclist had been overtaking two vehicles when one turned right and the motorcycle clipped the nose of the vehicle. The man appeared to have travelled 30m to 40m and landed in a ditch beside the road.
Two fire appliances, an ambulance and the Northland Rescue Helicopter were sent to the scene.