Petrol tanker and car collide at accident blackspot

A petrol tanker and a car carrying a small child collided at a notorious blackspot outside a Northland primary school - just three days after a serious crash at the same intersection in almost identical circumstances.
Kaitaia truckie Ken Collings saw the accident unfold where SH1 and 10 meet at Pakaraka, 15km north of Kawakawa, and was convinced someone had been seriously hurt or killed.
He was driving an empty logging truck north on SH1 about 2.45pm yesterday when he rounded a corner to see a petrol tanker heading south and a Nissan stationwagon turning right into SH10.
He saw the petrol tanker brake and swerve left before the vehicles collided head-on.
"She went straight into the front of the tanker, and bounced clean off it ... it was lucky she didn't go under it."
Not knowing where the station wagon would land, Mr Collings also braked hard - so hard the chain holding the trailer to the deck of his truck snapped and shunted forward, jamming a wheel - and called 111.
"I wasn't sure if anyone was killed or seriously injured, but I feared the worst. When I saw the lady walking around, with the little kid, I was so happy."
The tanker came to rest about 100m from the intersection, the Nissan's bumper wedged under its cab.
Mr Collings said he drove through the intersection regularly, including just after Monday's crash.
In that case a retired couple turning right into SH10 and a heavy transport truck heading south collided, the impact propelling their car into a fence around Pakaraka School. The male passenger suffered serious injuries and had to be cut free by firefighters.
Mr Collings said it was time the intersection was made safe for motorists and the school.
"There should be a blimmin' roundabout here, and speed restrictions at both ends. Why wait till a kid gets killed?"
Neighbour Art Hansen said there were constant fender-benders at the intersection, each of which was a potential fatality.
He too called for a roundabout, and the removal of signs which blocked turning traffic's line of sight.
"I don't know anywhere else where there's a major intersection on a blind corner in a 100km/h zone. We hear brakes going all the time, and we just wait for the bang."
Sergeant Ross Laurie, of Kerikeri police, said the driver of the Nissan and a 2-year-old had been taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa.
Their injuries were not believed to be serious, "just bruises, bumps and a fright".
Firefighters from Kaikohe, Kawakawa and Kerikeri helped with traffic control and clearing debris from the road.
Pakaraka School has repeatedly called for changes to the intersection, including lower speed limits and better signage. Since Monday's crash the school has cordoned off part of its field where the car came to rest in a stand of trees where children liked to play.