Criticism over crash response rankles

A Mangamuka farmer who went to the aid of a log truck driver who lost control of his trailer on Tuesday last week says she will think twice before doing so again. Tracey Julian said she and others had done what they thought was right in a dangerous situation, but had been rewarded with criticism from the Far North District Council and police.

The accident happened at about midday (not Tuesday evening, as initially reported), on Mangamuka Road, west of the Kohukohu Road turnoff, Ms Julian saying police arrived, she believed from Kaitaia, at around 4.30.

By that time the debris had been swept off the road, as a safety measure, although deep gouges in the seal showed what had happened and where.

The police, she said, expressed disappointment that the scene had been cleaned up before they had the chance to photograph it.

Meanwhile a district council road inspector had not been happy that the locals had used road cones, which Ms Julian said had been lying on the side of the road for some time, to warn motorists of the danger.

"We did what we thought was right," she said.

"I checked the driver to make sure he was okay, then we directed traffic and made it as safe as we could. It was on a sharp corner, and there could have been real danger for other motorists if they hadn't been warned. We were waiting for someone to take over, but no one did."

The trailer had come to rest on its wheels, she added, but the logs had spilled on to the road. A digger was used to load them on to another truck.

"The police weren't happy that we had cleaned up, but what were we supposed to do?" she asked.

"We tried to do the right thing and we got into trouble. Next time I'll just check the driver and walk away."