Lime was strewn at the bottom of a muddy bank yesterday morning, after the truck carrying it tipped over the edge of a slippery bend near Lake Tutira.
Bright yellow vests and skid marks marked the State Highway 2 corner, 1km south of Lake Tutira, where truck driver Russel Martin, 70, flipped his vehicle about 10.18am, according to the local fire service.
Jackson Transport employee Mr Martin was carrying lime from Napier to Gisborne in a truck and trailer. He said he had spent years driving the road without a single crash.
"I've been driving this road for the past 25-30 years.
"I was wiping the windscreen and went too close to the edge, and next thing I knew, I was somewhere I didn't want to be," he said.