Lucky driver survives being flung 15m

The driver of the car was left with head injuries, cuts and bruises. Photo / Northern Advocate

A Kerikeri woman was flung up to 15m on to the road after her car and a school bus collided near the Bay of Islands town yesterday.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Waipapa Rd and Rainbow Falls Rd about 8.10am and left the driver of the car with head injuries, cuts and bruises. St John Ambulance transported her to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa in a serious condition.

No children were on the school bus at the time, which was heading west along Waipapa Rd. The car, a BMW 318i, had been turning out of Rainbow Falls Rd.

Kerikeri police Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson said the woman, aged in her 20s, had turned into the path of the school bus. The impact had spun her vehicle around and ejected her from the car, resulting in serious lacerations to her scalp.

Police had yet to ascertain whether she had been wearing a seat belt.

The bus driver was unhurt and the school bus was driven away following a mechanical inspection. The car was extensively damaged and likely to be written off.

Enquiries into the crash were continuing, Mr Robinson said.

A St John paramedic said she was lucky not to have been more seriously injured, considering how far she had been thrown. She was expected to make a full recovery, but the next 12-24 hours would tell.

The Kerikeri Fire Brigade was also called out to assist.

Waipapa Rd was closed between State Highway 10 and the Heritage Bypass while the road was cleared and experts from the Whangarei-based police Serious Crash Unit examined the scene.