A 72-year-old man suffered serious injuries when his van plunged 150 metres down a bank in Hawkes Bay this morning.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident about 7am by a couple who had broken down on on State Highway 5 near Te Haroto and heard the vehicle go over the bank.
"He was going up a rise in the road and for some reason went straight through a fence and down a bank,'' said Sergeant Brian Peard.
The man, who was travelling alone, suffered serious head chest, back and hip injuries.
He was flown to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital by the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter.
