Woman injured after falling from horse-drawn cart in Northland

A school bus and car collided on a gravel road near Waipu. Photo/ Michael Cunningham

Three separate crashes involving a school bus, a horse and cart and a lamp post kept police busy yesterday.The first of the crashes was on a gravel road near Waipu where a car and school bus collided. The driver of the car and one student were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Team officer Senior Constable John van Pomeren said the bus had 33 students from Waipu Primary School and Bream Bay College onboard when it and a car travelling in the opposite direction on Brooks Rd, near Waipu, collided about 8am yesterday.He said the female driver of the car had just come up over the brow of hill on the gravel road and possibly could have had her sight impaired by sunstrike.

The car struck the school bus on the right hand side, just behind the front wheel, and travelled along the panel of the bus before spinning and coming to rest on the side of the road.

The car was written off and the bus had to be towed. The bus company sent another bus and the students were driven to school.

Van Pomeren said he was yet to speak to both drivers and investigations continued.

A vehicle involved in a different kind of accident near Kerikeri left the scene at a quiet plod about 11.20am.

A woman suffered leg injuries after apparently falling off a 100-year wagon being towed by shire horses along Inlet Rd yesterday morning. She was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital by ambulance.

The driver and vehicle leaving the scene of an unusual roading accident in Kerikeri. Photo/ Lindy Laird

The often-admired horses and cart are familiar sights along the road and at local events but the owner did not want to talk about how the accident happened.

It is not known whether the woman was sitting on the wagon seat or climbing on or off.

A police officer at the scene described it as ''just a mishap''.

Meanwhile, police were called to Springs Flat in Whangarei after a driver took out a lamp post about noon yesterday.

Police said a man in his late 50s was travelling north on State Highway 1 when he drove off the road and up on to a grass verge, knocking down a lamp post on the corner of the intersection of Great North Rd and SH1.

Police believe the cause of the crash may have been due to a medical condition and would be making further inquiries.

Emergency services and Northpower staff attended a crash when a car left the road and knocked down a lamppost at the intersection of Kamo Rd and Great North Rd. Photo/ John Stone

The road remained open, however two officers were on scene directing traffic.

The driver, who was wearing his seatbelt, was not injured but was transported to Whangarei Hospital.