KEY POINTS:
A 20-year-old man is in a serious condition after the BMW he was driving drifted across a highway centre line and smashed into two trucks.
Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said the accident happened at 4.20am today on State Highway 2 near Katikati in the western Bay of Plenty.
The driver, the vehicle's sole occupant, had been travelling east toward Tauranga when his car drifted into oncoming lanes.
On the other side of the road, one truck and trailer unit was about to overtake another unit, in a passing lane.
"The BMW has crossed the centre line and then crossed the passing lane and struck the right front tray of the trailer of the first heavy motor vehicle, and then spun around and struck the oncoming truck in the passing lane," Mr Campion said.
The driver, a Tauranga resident, had been cut out of his vehicle by the fire service, and taken to Tauranga hospital.
He had serious head injuries, Mr Campion said.
Neither of the truck drivers was hurt.
Mr Campion said crash analysts were continuing to investigate the cause of the accident and it was too early to say whether alcohol, speed or fatigue were factors.
Police would speak to the driver when he was well enough.
"This just highlights the fact that failing to keep left has an extremely high potential for serious or fatal injury, and certainly heavy motor vehicles are pretty unforgiving," Mr Campion said.
SH2 between Bethlehem and Waihi was closed for about four hours because of the accident.
- NZPA
