Head-on crash pair 'lucky'

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Two women are lucky to be alive after a head-on crash on a busy Bay of Islands highway, a senior firefighter says.

The head-on smash occurred on Puketona Rd, near Lily Pond Lane, at 9pm on Saturday and left both lanes of the highway blocked for more than two hours.

Both vehicles, a van and a ute, had one female occupant and came to rest at 90 degrees to the road across one lane.

Senior station officer Michael Fayne, of the Paihia Fire Brigade, said the van driver was out of her vehicle when emergency services arrived, but firefighters had to remove a door from the ute to give St John medics better access.

The ute driver suffered head, leg and arm injuries.

Mr Fayne said both were lucky to be alive. The most puzzling aspect of the crash was that both vehicles had been impacted on the front passenger side.

In another crash on Saturday - around 4.45pm on Puketotara Rd, west of Waipapa - a Nissan Pulsar lost control on a gravel road and uprooted a power pole.

Kerikeri firefighters were called out amid concerns the broken pole could fall completely, or that a tree in contact with the wires would catch fire.

Power in the area had to be turned off while the pole was replaced. The driver was checked at the scene by St John medics but did not need medical attention.