Teen searching for cellphone in Te Awamutu truck crash

The driver, from the Te Awamutu area, had surgery in Waikato Hospital overnight. Photo / File

A teen driver had just discovered he had forgotten his cellphone when he did a u-turn into the path of an oncoming milk tanker.

The truck and trailer unit ploughed straight into the driver's side of the 17-year-old's car on Arapuni Rd, near Kihikihi at 9.40pm yesterday.

Waikato police Senior Sergeant Ray Malcolmson said the driver had just left his home and pulled over to look for his cellphone.

He discovered he had left it behind so did a u-turn to go back and get it when the oncoming Fonterra milk tanker hit his car.

"The tanker tried to avoid it but couldn't and hit the vehicle on the driver's side. The driver was severely injured, was trapped and cut out by emergency services and taken to Waikato Hospital."

The young man, who was in a critical condition, had surgery overnight, he said.

The truck driver was left "pretty shaken" after the crash, he said.

The crash happened on the outskirts of Kihikihi on Arapuni Rd, near the intersection of Brotherhood Rd, he said.