Van carrying kids in crash with truck

A bright green truck parked as a mobile billboard may have contributed to a crash involving a van carrying children to a Riding for the Disabled outing between Napier and Hastings yesterday, police say.

The crash, also involving a light truck with an allegedly disqualified driver at the wheel, happened about 10am yesterday in Sandy Rd, Meeanee.

It was outside the RDA riding school and Meeanee Speedway Hastings side entrance, opposite where the truck had been parked for more than a week, front into a hedge and with rear abutting the side of the road.

It wasn't hit in the crash, but Hawke's Bay road policing supervisor Sergeant Kevin Stewart said: "That truck is parked legally. But it poses a large hazard. There's no room for error. Side-on, maybe, would be alright, but not that."

He believed it had been parked as a "mobile billboard".

Napier staff of quick-loans and pawn agency Superloans were contacted by police and arrived soon afterwards and removed the truck from the area.

Nobody was seriously injured in the crash, in which a Hohepa Hawke's Bay van, with four supervisors and three young students travelling from the east, was struck from behind by a light truck as the van turned into the riding school entrance. The van was shunted across the road and into a fence.

Police, the Fire Service and two ambulances rushed to the scene, and St John Ambulance Service district operations manager Stephen Smith said two adults and two students were taken for hospital or medical centre treatment.

The driver of the light truck was expected to face further action from police.

Mr Stewart said the crash could have been worse, but shouldn't have happened. It had ruined the day out for the group who supervisors were able to keep calm, assisted by police who had asked their staff, and the fire and ambulance crews, not to use sirens in their approaches to the scene. Hohepa HB general manager Andy White said at the scene accidents involving its fleet are rare, particularly considering the kilometres and time on the road each day. It has 20 to 30 vehicles, and more than 130 people in its care. Many of the vehicle movements are in the area of the crash.

"We use Riding for the Disabled regularly," he said. "They are a very important part of these people's lives.

"It's always been great."