Driver injured, trapped after truck crashes down bank off Napier-Taupō highway

Emergency services are working to free a trapped truck driver after he plunged 10 metres over a bank on the Napier to Taupō highway. Photo / Mike Scott

A motorist has described a horror crash scene after a truck plunged off a steep bank, leaving a person seriously injured and trapped.

Police and firefighters are scrambling to free the driver of the large truck after it crashed about 9.30am off the Napier to Taupō highway at Te Haroto.

A motorist who came across the scene just after the crash said it was a tragedy for the truck driver and their family.

"It's always awful to see someone who started a day and had it finished in such an abrupt and tragic way.

"They and their family would never have thought that this is how Saturday would pan out."

The witness said the large commercial truck plunged down a steep 10-metre bank leaving the driver pinned in the cab.

A rescue helicopter awaits the extrication of a trapped driver to transport him to hospital after a serious crash at Te Haroto between Napier and Taupō. Photo / Mike Scott

He said the driver had been trapped for about 30 minutes before emergency services arrived, but he had been immediately attended to by an off-duty ambulance officer.

"There was a really heavy and icy rain starting to fall just as rescue workers turned up. And it looked like he'd slid on the wet road as he came around the corner and crossed the line and went over the bank."

The truck was heading east toward Napier and on the Napier side of State Highway 5 when the crash happened.

He described the truck as severely damaged and said the 100kmh road was down to one lane when the witness drove through.

Police and firefighters are on the scene trying to cut the driver free. A rescue helicopter from Napier is also at the scene.

A police spokesperson said it was a single-vehicle crash involving a large truck that went about 10 metres down the bank.

"One person is in a serious condition and is trapped and needs to be extricated."

She said the road was not blocked by the crash, but motorists were asked to travel through the scene with caution.