Three injured in accident with fire engine

Three people remained in a critical condition in Auckland City Hospital yesterday after an accident on Saturday night when a car slammed into the back of a fire engine on the Northwestern Motorway near Massey.

Four volunteer firefighters in the engine from the Waitemata fire station were uninjured, said Waitakere City Chief Fire Officer Bill Ellis.

They received counselling after the crash, which occurred on a downhill stretch of motorway about 200m from the city side of the Royal Rd onramp.

Two passengers were cut from the wreckage and rushed to hospital. Airbags had to be put under the back of the fire engine so the car could be winched out and the driver cut free. This took nearly an hour.

Mr Ellis said the fire engine was on its way to a separate accident in Sturges Rd, near Henderson, when it was hit from behind.

The car jammed underneath the fire engine, sparks flew and it took more than 250m for the vehicles to stop.

Mr Ellis said the car must have been "well in excess of the speed limit" to have hit and become wedged under the fire engine, which was travelling about the 100km/h speed limit.

He did not know how the car could crash into the fire engine, which was lit up like a Christmas tree with flashing lights.

Police are investigating.