A truck driver delivering refrigerated food to Hawke's Bay was lucky to walk away without a scratch after his truck rolled just south of Waipukurau today. Emergency services, including the Waipukurau Fire Brigade, St John and police were called to the scene at about 9.26am, 5km south of the Waipukurau Golf Club.
The Provida Foods truck was on its way to Waipukurau from Palmerston North when it rolled, crumpling the cab and breaking apart the back of the truck that ended up in a paddock facing towards the road.
Provida Foods Palmerston North operations manager Peter Li Calsi said the driver was doing a regular delivery to Hawke's Bay and was heading to drop off some goods at Waipukurau before heading to Havelock North and Hastings.
"At this stage it appears he fell asleep, it was a fatigue issue. He walked away literally without a scratch," he said.
Driver fatigue was an area of ongoing driver education at the company, as was required by all operators in the transportation industry, Li Calsi said.