Scaffolding collapses, lands on Tesla on busy Remuera street, WorkSafe says ‘potential for tragic consequences’

An Auckland commuter says it was “bloody lucky” that nobody was injured after scaffolding collapsed on a busy Remuera street, landing on a vehicle and prompting others to swerve out of the way.

Grant, who didn’t want his last name used, said he was driving home shortly before 11.40am today when he saw the scaffolding begin to sway.

“I just knew that it was going to fall,” he said.

A video obtained by the Herald shows the terrifying moment scaffolding collapses on Peach Parade, forcing cars to swerve out of the way.

The aftermath of scaffolding which collapsed and fell on Peach Parade in Auckland's Remuera this morning.

Grant said he was on autopilot and swerved to the other side of the road along with a car in front of him to avoid collision with the scaffolding.

“Just before that there were heaps of cars coming up the other side of the road so it was pretty lucky because I didn’t even look before I swerved,” he said.

One commuter driving a Tesla wasn’t so lucky however, with the scaffolding coming down on top of his vehicle.

Grant said the elderly driver was visibly in shock after the incident but unharmed.

Damage to a Tesla after scaffolding collapsed and fell the busy Remuera street.

“It looked like he swerved slightly and it was pretty lucky that he did because the scaffolding hit the front left of the windscreen and the sunroof,” Grant said.

The Tesla driver had his dog in the passenger seat of the vehicle. It was also unharmed.

“He got out of the car and I could see that he was obviously pretty shaken so I was just trying to make sure he was okay,” said Grant.

Grant said a group of contractors from the site come out straight after the incident and began dismantling the scaffolding while putting traffic management in place.

The elderly driver in the Tesla was visibly in shock after the incident but luckily unharmed.

“It was bloody lucky, that could’ve been a kid walking along the road or someone on a motorbike who may have died.

“[It was] very dangerous and a miracle that nobody was injured,” Grant said.

He said he reported the incident to police and WorkSafe NZ.

WorkSafe area manager Danielle Henry said they were notified of the incident at 12.30pm and had an inspector on site shortly after.

“The scaffolding, which was approximately six metres high, came down on a busy road, striking and severely damaging a passing vehicle and causing others to take evasive action. It’s lucky there wasn’t anyone on it at the time and that no pedestrians or drivers were seriously injured.”

WorkSafe said today’s collapse had the potential for tragic consequences.

Henry said WorkSafe’s focus has been to make sure people are safe.

“We aren’t able to comment on the specific cause of the collapse while we’re on site making initial enquiries but there’s a number of things anyone involved in the design of scaffolding systems, or on a worksite currently using scaffolding, should consider and review.”

A witness to the accident said the scaffolding had “blown over in very light winds” and one lane was blocked.

Henry said because of the size of the scaffolding it will take some time to remove and may impact travel on the high-traffic area.

“Scaffolds can be complex pieces of engineering and it’s important that they are designed and constructed by suitably qualified and experienced workers. Today’s collapse had the potential for tragic consequences. Please take the time to check any scaffolding present on your worksite to ensure that it is safe,” she said.

A police spokesperson said they were notified around 12.20pm today that scaffolding had fallen on to a vehicle on Peach Parade.

“The driver of the vehicle was fortunately uninjured but the car was damaged.

“Police were encouraging the person who reported it to give police the video footage they had, and also encouraged the driver to report to their insurance company”.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.