Crash kills cow, sparks shed fire

Photo / file

A freak series of events has seen a Taranaki farmer lose a cow, but save his milking shed from fire.

A motorist was traveling along a dark, wet Manaia Rd near Kaponga on Friday night when he hit and killed a black friesian.

The animal was thrown over the top of the car, peeling back the bonnet and shattering the windscreen. The car smashed into a pole which caused a power surge to race along the wires into the farmer's house.

The same surge blew up the cowshed meter board and set it on fire. However, it melted a water line directly above which extinguished the blaze.

Kaponga chief fire officer Jason Hurley told the Taranaki Daily News the incident was "hard case".

If the fire had not been extinguished, the cowshed, hidden behind a hedge from the road, would have been well ablaze before it was noticed, he said.

The car driver, not believed to be badly injured, was very lucky, Mr Hurley said.

- NZPA