Seatbelt saves driver as truck rolls

LUCKY GUY: A young driver escaped unharmed after losing control of a tyre transport truck that rolled on Bidwell's Cutting Rd, near Greytown, yesterday. PHOTO/NATHAN CROMBIE

A seatbelt saved a young truck driver who yesterday crawled unharmed from the wreckage of his rolled truck near Greytown, police say.

Masterton traffic policing Sergeant Chris Megaw said the 17-year-old driver had lost control of the truck while travelling toward Greytown on Bidwell's Cutting Rd, near Morison's Bush, shortly before 2pm yesterday.

Mr Megaw said the driver had struggled to keep the truck in control over a more than 50-metre stretch, veering at speed on to the verge and into the opposing lane, before the truck tore through about 15m of fence and came to rest on its roof at a right-angle to the road.

The driver's side of the truck cab had been crushed in the crash and Mr Megaw praised the use of a seatbelt for keeping the driver safe from injury.

The truck was carrying only a couple of tyres at the time of the crash and the driver was the sole occupant, Mr Megaw said.

The teen was given a ticket for failing to stay in the right lane but would not face any charges arising from the crash as he had reported being unwell at the time, Mr Megaw said, and those "medical issues" would be investigated and taken into account.

Mr Megaw said the driver had been well attended in the aftermath of the crash, as a crew of volunteer firefighters from Greytown were heading to a grass fire at nearby Glenmorven Rd and came across the crash scene within seconds of the truck rolling.

"The driver scrambled out and wasn't hurt and firefighters were the first people at the scene. He was very lucky."

Mr Megaw last week credited seatbelts for saving the lives of three Martinborough teens who were on their way home from Castlepoint Beach on Friday afternoon when the vehicle in which they were travelling became airborne on Ponatahi Rd, somersaulting and coming to rest on its side hard against a low roadside bank.

The driver, 17, escaped the wreckage unscathed and the two passengers - brothers aged 14 and 15 - received only minor injuries.