By RNZ
A large truck has rolled down a steep bank on a notoriously winding road in the Wellington suburb of Aro Valley.
Three homes below were evacuated after the truck rolled down a bank on Mortimer Terrace, police said.
Builder Zac James said he was on site nearby when he heard the crash.
He said the driver seemed pretty shocked and believed if the truck had not hit a parked car on the way down, it would have landed in an elderly resident’s house.
“The car saved the day, really,” he said.
Wellington City Council said it was a sump clearing truck which cleans out stormwater drains with a vacuum.
The council has confirmed the road will be closed for a couple of days.
The driver was not in the truck at the time when it rolled over the bank, taking out a fence on its way down and it appears to have clipped a parked car on its way down.
Police confirmed the driver was uninjured and out of the truck when emergency services arrived.
The houses below the truck have been evacuated as a precaution while it is being removed.
Fire and Emergency said they have stabilised the truck with ropes and chains to stop it rolling or slipping further. However, it will be salvage experts that will remove the truck. The removal is a big operation, requiring another large truck to stabilise the one down the bank, power lines to be removed, and two trucks to pull it out.
Residents can be seen packing items in anticipation of being away from home for a couple of days.
McGinty’s has been tasked with the operation.
Emergency services are on the scene directing traffic.
Mortimer Terrace residents say they spied the truck in the bush shortly before 9am.
A Fulton Hogan staff member said everyone was safe and the truck belonged to one of their subcontractors. RNZ was referred to the council for further questions.
- RNZ
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The man is now in a critical but stable condition in hospital.