Paramedics are blaming a black poodle for distracting his owner so badly she swerved her car off the road and into trees. A woman, 65, is in a critical condition after crashing on Waihi Beach Rd.
Emergency workers said the poodle had jumped or fallen out an open back-seat window. The Waihi woman looked over her shoulder at the dog and misjudged the corner.
Last night, Waikato Hospital said the woman was in the intensive care unit being treated for serious head and chest injuries.
Waihi Beach vet Pip Jones found the dog running down the road shortly after the crash.
Jones hoped the news about the dog's survival would lift the woman's spirits.
