Injured woman lifted from wreckage

A woman is rescued after another crash on the Hawke's Bay Expressway near Meeanee Quay, Westshore. Photo / File

A woman in her 30s was seriously injured as a truck and car collided near Napier yesterday on one of the blackest spots on Hawke's Bay roads.

The crash happened at the northern end of the Hawke's Bay Expressway about 10.10am as a car travelling from Meeanee Quay entered the path of a northbound truck and trailer.

The woman was a front-seat passenger in the car and appeared to have taken the "brunt" of the force as the truck collided with her side of the vehicle, a Fire Service spokesman said.

She was treated in the wreckage by a St John Ambulance Service crew before being extricated and rushed to Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings, suffering chest and head injuries.

The male car driver, aged about 60, was also taken to hospital with suspected back injuries. The truck driver escaped injury.

One witness, Hastings man John Lowe, was in nearby Watchman Rd when the crash happened, and said he first noticed the truck and trailer "raising a fair bit of dust" from its wheels. After it stopped he saw the damaged car just off the tarseal and about 30m from the truck. He estimated it was about 20 minutes before the woman was freed from the car.