Emergency services at the crash. Photo/Andrew Warner
A man and his 18-month-old daughter were driving along Rangiuru Rd, near Te Puke, when a tree began to fall and caught a powerline.
Senior Constable Bruce Gordon said the driver skidded into the tree and was trapped for 45 minutes.
The man and his daughter were uninjured.
"This is the best case scenario, it could have been so so worse. It could have been two dead very easily," Gordon said.
Arthur Butlin's neighbour was the driver of the ute.
He phoned Butlin while trapped in the vehicle and said the two of them were okay.
"I didn't know what to say to him but I just said stay in there.
"They were really lucky."
The crash happened on Rangiuru Rd between Clark Rd and Penderel Rd. A cordon is in place at Te Matai Rd and Rangiuru Rd is expected to be closed for some time, police said.
The crash happened shortly before 5pm.
Audrey Wilson had repeated falls, a fractured arm and sepsis. She died in hospital.