Driver's truck draped with live wires

A truck driver who crashed into a power pole on the outskirts of Whangarei sat in his cab for 40 minutes while live power wires hung off it.

The Semco truck and trailer unit was heading north through Springs Flat, when the driver lost control and smashed into a concrete power pole yesterday morning, splitting it in half and bringing down lines.

The screeching of tyres and a bang woke resident Carolyn Webb at 4am.

She ran outside to see the power pole and lines hanging off the truck with the conscious driver still inside. She rang 111 and alerted emergency services.

"There were no wires sparking so I thought that was good," she said.

Managing director of Semco Group, Harry Semenoff, said the Whangarei driver, aged in his late 30s, had rung him from his cab and said he "wasn't prepared to get out of the truck" while the wires were draped over it.

It was a wise decision, as the 400 volt lines were still alive, Northpower lines foreman Mike Compton said.

"He did the right thing by staying inside with the tyres under him."

The 400 volt lines were capable of killing a man but 33,000 and 11,000 volt wires off the same pole had not fallen on to the truck.

The injured driver remained inside for over an hour until the power was turned off 40 minutes after the accident.

The driver was taken to Whangarei Hospital with a cut forehead.

Mr Semenoff said the driver had lost control after going over a bump and the truck had jack-knifed in greasy road conditions.

Northpower linesmen replaced the smashed pole with a new one and power was reinstalled to about 80 homes by 10am.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)