A truck and trailer both laden with engineered wood panels became airborne in a spectacular crash south of Kaitaia.
Miraculously, the driver walked away from the scene of destruction, which closed the highway in both directions.
Witnesses said the trailer left the road on State Highway 1, about 5km south of Kaitaia, flipping and taking the lead truck with it.
The awestruck eyewitnesses watched on from a hill above the highway as the curtain-sided truck and trailer soared through the air.
The truck landed almost on its nose in a deep drain, 40m further south on the other side of the road. The trailer was left upside down across the road.