The Department of Labour is investigating how a woman fell into the disused part of a mechanic's pit during a routine vehicle inspection on Thursday.
The 68-year-old Judea woman had been invited into the pit area at the VTNZ station on 9th Ave while her car was checked for a warrant
of fitness.
A vehicle inspector escorted the woman into the mechanical area to show her a fault in her headlights when she lost her balance and fell backwards into the pit.
Mount Maunganui St John operations manager Gary Bishell said the woman was conscious in the bottom of the pit when paramedics arrived on the scene.
The woman had a sore head and tailbone after falling into the pit, which he estimated was about 1.8m deep.
"She had some small bleeding on the back of her head," he said.
The woman was taken to Tauranga Hospital at 1.30pm where she was treated then released at 6pm.
Renee Campbell-Scott from VTNZ said the incident was unfortunate and precautions were in place to ensure accidents like that didn't happen.
"We do everything we can so that no one falls into the pit.
"We've got signs up everywhere.
"There's a wee wall that separates customers from the lanes.
"But, occasionally, we escort them through.
"We do that quite often. There's always going to be people saying, 'Can you show me?'.
"Unfortunately, when she [the customer] was looking at the lights she took a small step backwards," she said.
"Obviously, she was really shaken up. Obviously, she'll be bruised."
She said the accident could have been worse if the vehicle inspector hadn't reacted quickly to help break the fall.
She said the vehicle inspector felt "absolutely terrible".
External communications adviser Eric Janse van Rensburg said the Department of Labour's investigation would aim to identify why the injury occurred in the workplace and what steps could have been taken to prevent it.
VTNZ have said they would look into covering the section of the pit where the fall occurred, which they say is no longer in use.
