A mother with a young baby has described the moment the double decker bus she was travelling in hit and killed a cow north of Taupō.
Dinelle Kingi was travelling from Rotorua to Paraparaumu with her 3-month-old daughter when the bus collided with the cow just before 11.30pm yesterday on State Highway 5.
"I was sitting on the lower deck of the bus along side a handful of other passengers. We were coming round a corner and the cow come out of nowhere and walked head on into the bus. I just remember the glass shattering and I instantly jumped over my baby to protect her."
"I just remember hearing a bang like the windscreen exploded. If I'm completely honest I was just worried about my daughter who slept through the entire accident," she said.
![The crash occurred on State Highway 5 at Ohaaki, north of Taupo. Image / Google Maps](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/VLNR7XGJGALV3E6LR5ZCWVA65I.png?auth=3b5a4a3b2a912efd4b7bd8d232acef4f783e47f4c6c5ecb3dbe0ef0472d72753&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)