Teenage girls roll car, rider breaks leg at Kerikeri

A motorcyclist with a broken leg is loaded into the Northland Rescue Helicopter at Kerikeri Sports Complex on Tuesday evening. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Two teenage girls escaped serious injury when the car they were in rolled on State Highway 10 about 3.40am yesterday. The crash occurred on a bend between Living Nature and the Kerikeri roundabout with the vehicle coming to rest upside down on the side of the road.

The two occupants, believed to be aged 14 and 16 and living in Kerikeri, suffered only minor head and back injuries.

They were transported to Bay of Islands Hospital as a precaution.

It is thought seat belts saved them from serious injury.

Police, St John Ambulance and Kerikeri Fire Brigade responded.

Earlier, about 4.30pm on Tuesday, Sergeant Phil Le Comte of Mid North police said a motorcyclist suffered a leg fracture on Kerikeri Inlet Rd after he ''became separated from his bike''.

The 53-year-old's injuries were not life-threatening but significant enough for him to be flown to Whangārei Hospital.

He was taken by ambulance to Kerikeri Sports Complex, where he was stabilised, put in a splint and collected by the Northland Rescue Helicopter.

It is understood the rider had a broken femur and may have also broken a wrist.