A lapse in concentration left a 78-year-old Northland man in a critical condition after his car was in collision with a truck and trailer south of Whangarei.
Northland police highway-patrol sergeant Chris Goodall said the man was heading south on State Highway 1 between Flyger and Cotton Rds, about 22km south of Whangarei, when it appeared he stopped at the roadside about 3.35pm yesterday.
It is believed the Ruakaka man, travelling alone, pulled out to go to a road-side market across the road, Mr Goodall said.
"It looks like he was intending to go in there but he went into the path of a south-bound truck and trailer."
The car was impacted on the passenger side and it ended up down the bank on the opposite side of the road. The man, initially unresponsive to emergency services, was taken to Whangarei Hospital by the Northland Emergency Services Trust helicopter in a serious condition.
