Felled felling truck caps a busy few days for emergency crews

FALLEN: Northpower is investigating how one of its trucks ended up on its side. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Northland roads have proved treacherous over the past two days with a series of crashes, including a tree-felling truck which fell over.

The Northpower truck ended on its side yesterday on Tauraroa Rd in Maungakaramea about 9.30am.

Northpower spokesman Steve MacMillan said the company would investigate the cause of the accident. Nobody was injured.

"It appears a rear wheel of the truck has entered a water table on a slight downhill gradient and the driver has subsequently lost control," Mr MacMillan said. The driver was unhurt.

"These Northpower aborist crews are meticulous with their safety given the work they do and we have not had one of these trucks come to grief previously."

Meanwhile, emergency services were called to the roundabout at the junction of Waipapa Rd and Kerikeri's Heritage Bypass after a car rolled about 9pm on Thursday. No one was seriously injured.

A fire spokesman said it appeared the car had been racing when it crashed and rolled.

It was just one incident during an unusually busy few days for the Kerikeri Fire Brigade, which had six callouts on Wednesday alone.

Just before 5pm on Thursday, a car and a truck collided at the intersection of Kohukohu Rd and Mangamuka Rd in North Hokianga. The occupants suffered injuries but none was thought to be serious.

About the same time, a motorbike and car collided on West Coast Rd in Te Kopuru, near Dargaville. The driver was taken to Whangarei Hospital in a moderate condition with a suspected broken leg.

That morning, about 5.45, a truck hit a tree on Matawaia-Maromaku Rd, south of Kawakawa. The tree then hit a power pole, bringing power lines down across the road.

The driver was not hurt but could not get out of his cab until lines workers disconnected the power. Volunteers from the Kaikohe Fire Brigade kept other motorists away from the lines.