Emergency services waited to free the trapped driver who remained in the cab until the downed powerlines could be switched off. Photo / Rachel Wise
A truck driver phoned his family, smoked a few cigarettes and played Tetris on his phone while waiting to be freed after he was stuck in his crashed cab while a power company ensured power lines draped over his truck were safe.
State Highway 2 near Waipawa was closed after
the accident which left live power lines hanging across the truck and trailer. Hawke's Bay Today understands the driver has minor injuries. He later walked from the cab, to a nearby ambulance after the okay was given to free him.
The man, from Puketapu, told Hawke's Bay Today at the scene the only thing hurt was his "pride".
He "got a hell of a fright" but said he had watched enough rescue programmers on TV to know to stay in the cab away from the power lines, although he said if the truck had caught fire he would have "dived for it".
The first thing he did, while waiting for the all clear from linemen, was to ring his family and let them know he was okay.
