Caution urged at road works after hit and run

File photo / Brett Phibbs

Police are urging motorists to keep to temporary speed limits around road works after a hit and run incident near Pirongia, 32km south west of Hamilton, on Friday night.

A road worker was hit from behind while moving road cones on State Highway 39, shortly after 9pm, Acting Sergeant Jason Pope of Te Aamutu police said.

"He was thrown off the left hand side of the road, where we believe he lost consciousness. When he has come to he struggled his way to the roadside on his hands and knees and was discovered by passing motorists who raised the alarm."

The man then suffered a seizure and was helped by the motorists who had already stopped after the initial incident.

"He was transported to Waikato Hospital in a stable condition, with head, hip, and leg injuries and though serious, we are very lucky not to have ended up dealing with a fatality," Mr Pope said.

"Our victim had phoned police to report motorists were travelling through the road works at speed, which were clearly controlled by 30km/h temporary speed signs, only minutes before he was struck down."

Mr Pope said it was believed the vehicle that hit the worker was likely to have damage to its left front and police were appealing for the driver or any witnesses to come forward.

- NZPA