Four injured when car flips on beach

A teenager was flown to Whangarei Hospital with back and head injuries after a vehicle he was a passenger in rolled on a beach north of Dargaville yesterday afternoon.

Dargaville Fire Brigade station officer Michael Ross said five teenagers were driving along Omamari Beach, 30km northwest of Dargaville, when their 4WD overturned about 1km north of the tiny settlement.

Mr Ross said a youth, aged about 18, was thrown out the front passenger window. He said all of the teenagers in the badly damaged vehicle were locals.

The weather was fine and calm at the time of the crash, Mr Ross said, adding it was common for people to drive along the west coast beach.

Three off-duty nurses quickly came to assist the teenagers, four of whom were taken to Dargaville Medical Centre for a check-up.

A St John Ambulance spokesman confirmed a patient was flown by the Lion Foundation air ambulance to Whangarei Hospital with moderate to serious back and head injuries.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)