Masterton pupil walks away from crash

The upside down Mini lies amid damage caused to a berry farm crop alongside SH2 north of Masterton near the Opaki Bridge. PHOTO/ALAN BISSETT

A Masterton schoolgirl crawled almost unharmed from her upside-down car after she lost control of the vehicle at high speed and came to rest in a strawberry field near the town yesterday.

Masterton Police traffic Sergeant Chris Megaw said the 18-year-old was heading towards her family home in Palmerston North and had lost control of the vehicle just before the Opaki Bridge on SH2 north of Masterton about 2.30pm.

She had been alone in her car when the single-vehicle incident unfolded after she crossed the centreline on a moderate bend and over-corrected, slamming in to a low roadside bank, toppling nearly 30m of fence and destroying parts of several rows of strawberries belonging to the Wee Red Barn berry farm.

Two Masterton fire crews were sent to the crash scene with police and an ambulance crew who assessed the girl and found she had escaped virtually unscathed, Mr Megaw said.

"She'd just finished class and was heading home when she lost control of her car, and was lucky to come away uninjured."

Wee Red Barn owner Alan Bissett said he had been finishing the last few metres of work on the rows of fruit when he heard skidding as the car "was coming in".

"The car was upside down and she crawled out from under it and walked up to me. She was very shaken up -- shocked. I asked if she okay and she said she was."

Mr Bissett said about 70m of strawberry plants, tables, bags and netting had been "wiped out" by the out-of-control car as had the length of fencing.

"We'll put it all back together in a day although there's quite a bit to do and we have to do it right now. The plants won't survive otherwise."

Mr Bissett said the fruit was only about three weeks away from harvest.