Truckie's daredevil act prevents motorway mayhem

Shane Mahuta

An out-of-control truck on Auckland's Southern Motorway was brought under control by the quick thinking of two people.

They fought to control the fully laden rig through motorway traffic for 3km after its driver had a fatal heart attack.

Police yesterday praised the woman passenger in the truck and a passing driver who, they say, averted a potential disaster.

The drama began about 4pm on the Newmarket flyover and ended 3.3km later at the Tecoma St off-ramp, beyond the Ellerslie racecourse.

When the 41-year-old driver had a heart attack, his truck began to scrape against the median barrier of the Newmarket flyover.

Kuehne and Nagel truck driver Shane Mahuta was 500m behind as the out-of-control truck hit the median barrier.

"I could see in the truck's passenger window that something funny was going on.

"[The passenger] was leaning over to the driver's side, driving, as the driver was leaning on her," said Mr Mahuta, a truck driver of 13 years.

"I sped to catch them up."

He feared the truck, which had been swerving, might roll.

He believes the passenger got it under control and back into the centre lane.

Mr Mahuta passed the truck on the inside lane, doing about 50km/h.

"I managed to get around them on the inside lane and get in front of them."

As he passed the truck, he saw the woman passenger stretched over the driver and steering from the passenger seat.

"I got in front of her and let their truck hit the back of mine."

Mr Mahuta then gradually applied his brakes until the following truck hit.

"There was a bang and a bit of a nudge."

Slowly he tried to bring the two trucks, each about 16m long, to a halt as they drove locked together down the motorway.

Complicating matters was that the road was greasy after rain.

Mr Mahuta said it was lucky most of the motorway was fairly straight and level as the two trucks manoeuvred down one of New Zealand's busiest stretches of road.

Despite the holiday season, the road was "still fairly busy", said Mr Mahuta.

The two rigs - Mr Mahuta's weighing about 38 tonnes, the other closer to 20 tonnes - came to a halt on a bend just past the Greenlane turn-off.

The driver was dead when emergency services arrived. Police are investigating the man's medical condition.

Mr Mahuta said the woman, who he believed worked in an office and had gone along for the ride, was badly shaken by the incident.

"But she did an amazing job."

Police praised the actions of Mr Mahuta and the unnamed passenger.

The head of the Serious Crash Unit, Acting Sergeant Stu Kearns, said: "The truck may not have been stopped without other vehicles being hit and people injured.

"Together the two people through their quick actions brought an out-of-control situation to an end. They must be thanked."

A recommendation has been made to the police district commander for an official recognition of their actions - the first step to a police commendation.

After the incident, Mr Mahuta, a father of two, returned his truck to the yard, finished work and headed home.

He shrugged off the tag of hero.

"I saw someone in trouble and I had to go to their help.

"My boss said it was a brave thing and smart thinking.

"I'm back at work tomorrow.

"In 13 years of truck driving, nothing prepares you for this."

Inspector Andy Brill said the police communications centre received six calls about the trucks.

The first witness said the truck had lost control on the flyover, and later calls described it scraping along the median barrier.