An 82-year-old woman is in Tauranga hospital after her car and a fully laden fuel tanker collided this afternoon.
The crash occurred south of Te Puke, on State Highway 33 near the Whakatane turn-off to State Highway 2.
The woman had just dropped off hitch-hikers when her car and the tanker collided.
The car spun and was thrown off the side of the road and into a ditch beside the highway.
