Woman breaks arms in head-on smash on 'lethal' road near Whangamatā

Firefighters at the scene of the head-on road crash. Photo / Alison Smith

A Whangamatā woman broke both her arms in a head-on smash on a piece of road described as ''lethal''.

The woman was trapped for nearly an hour and was one of two injured when the vehicle they were in and a truck collided near Whangamata yesterday.

The accident, involving a truck carrying aggregate, happened on SH25 just north of a sharp bend past the Ōpoutere turnoff shortly after 11am.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter and volunteer firefighters from Whangamatā and Onemana joined police and Tairua ambulance officers to help the women, both from Whangamata

One was flown by helicopter to hospital and the other was taken by ambulance for treatment. It was unclear if the truck driver was injured.

It was the third car accident in less than a year at the location. Caution tape is still in place from the last vehicle written off after its driver slid off the road down a steep hill sometime around Easter.

Vicki Smith, of Ōpoutere, was among the first people to arrive at the scene today.

"This is the second accident I've been at. I saw the other one just the other day."

She said that at Easter a car left the road at the same spot where it had a steep camber and "greasy" surface and ended up down a steep hill.

Her son had also crashed at the same spot last June. ''My son went over the bank and wrote his car off. I rang NZTA about this corner over Easter and they told me to send a letter, so I did."

A Thames-Coromandel District Council contractor, who spoke on condition he was not named, was at the scene and said two fellow staff had been involved in accidents at the location.

The rescue helicopter at the crash scene. Photo / Alison Smith

"This is lethal, this piece of road. We've had a couple of cars come off here and they weren't going fast."

Emergency services at the scene of the accident. Photo / Alison Smith

He carries with him in his car three high-vis vests, a 4.5kg fire extinguisher and a flashing light in preparation for coming across accidents on the roads he regularly drives on the Coromandel, including the Whangamatā to Hikuai road and Kopu Hikuai Rd to Thames.

NZTA has been approached for comment.