A driver escaped unharmed when his Tip Top icecream truck rolled at the roundabout connecting Dave Culham Dr and Port Rd in Whangārei this afternoon. Photo / Tania Whyte
A driver escaped unharmed when his Tip Top icecream truck rolled at the roundabout connecting Dave Culham Dr and Port Rd in Whangārei this afternoon. Photo / Tania Whyte
Police are urging motorists to avoid the area near Whangārei's Te Matau ā Pohe lift bridge where a Tip Top truck, chock-a-block with icecreams and other products, rolled on its side and blocked traffic.
Police are diverting motorists on Port Rd outside The Warehouse and re-directing vehicles back towards central Whangārei, while they - alongside two fire crews - worked to remove the truck from the left-hand lane of the roundabout headed over the bridge.
Police said the driver of the vehicle was unhurt in the crash shortly before 1pm.
Whangārei's Bill Edmonds was parked in Te Matau ā Pohe carpark in his van - with its back window rigged with a warning to motorists to "slow down the next corner may kill" faced towards the roundabout - when he heard a loud crashing sound.
"The noise made me look. Holy hell, I thought, it's tipping and it's sliding towards me," Edmonds said.
"A guy in the ute was lucky he was more than a few seconds behind otherwise it would've got him."
John Woest was on his way to VTNZ on Port Rd when he approached the roundabout and spotted, what he said, was either clouds of smoke or steam coming from the truck stranded on its left-hand side.
"The driver had his feet on the windscreen and was trying to kick it out," Woest said. "One guy was running up trying to figure out how to get him out of there."
A motorist was able to open the cab door and helped lift the driver out. Edmonds then gave him a bottle of water and comforted the shaken driver while they waited for emergency services.
"I said to him it's just one of those things, s*** happens. The good thing is you're still alive," Edmonds said. "The sign on the back of my van seemed pretty appropriate today."
Bill Edmonds of Whangārei is known around town for his stark road safety messages, which included a kerbside coffin made of banana boxes on SH1 in 2018. Photo / Tania Whyte
Edmonds is creatively outspoken when it comes to road safety. In 2018 he erected a coffin on the side of the highway to provide motorists travelling north through Whangārei with a stark safety reminder.
The coffin was made with banana boxes and placed next to SH1 at the intersection of Puna Rere Dr.
Edmonds has experienced a road tragedy in his family when his father-in-law was killed in a crash near Waipū many years ago.
He wanted to see more courtesy on Northland roads and fewer deaths, so decided a sign was the best way to permanently share his message.
"It's about saving lives. If I can save even one life through my sign then I've achieved its purpose," Edmonds said.
The safety of his five grandkids is always at the forefront of his mind. But also he is a passionate man who likes to make a difference.
"When I used to be Santa I would say to the kids, don't forget to tell dad to slow down when you're going to the beach."
Edmonds has another vehicle that sports a message about saying no to meth - it even mentions maggots in your brain.
