Crash truckie trapped after milk tanker rolls

A truck driver trapped in his cab for two hours survived after his milk tanker rolled and slid hundreds of metres down SH1 in Northland yesterday morning, spilling tens of thousands of litres of milk that closed the road for nearly 13 hours.

The serious crash happened north of Puhoi around 4.45am.

A slimy, slippery residue congealing on the road caused mayhem for recovery efforts and the usually busy highway was closed until nearly 6pm. New Zealand Transport Agency Auckland highways manager Brett Gliddon said the milk fat had solidified and formed an "extremely slippery" surface across three lanes of the highway.

High-powered water blasters were used to clean the road and make it safe for traffic.

Tens of thousands of litres of milk spilled on to the road after the crash.

"They're still trying to work out how to get rid of that stuff. It's milk fat ... apparently even the vehicles they're using to pick it up with, they're skidding all over the place," Inspector Cornell Klussein of police northern communications said.

A witness at the scene said it was a "miracle" the driver survived the crash.

"It's gone basically 500m down the road, nearly gone over a bank ... he was severely trapped," he said. "It's going to cause absolute, total chaos."

He understood 35,000 to 40,000 litres of milk products spilled on the road.

The truck and trailer were badly damaged, he said.

"The cab's basically gone.

"It's an absolute miracle he survived," the witness said.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter from Auckland landed on the highway about 100-200m from where the truck had come to a halt.

A spokesman said the driver was transported to Auckland City Hospital in a "critical but stable condition". NZME