A ute rolls head on into another vehicle after hitting a bank on Scenic Drive in Auckland. Video / Piha Community
An Auckland motorist can be seen losing control on a bend and teetering on two wheels before rolling and “catapulting” into an oncoming car in “scary” new dash cam footage.
Piha man James Dickinson says he’s lucky to be alive after his dash cam caught the moment the motorist slammed into Dickinson’s vehicle on Scenic Dr about 5.30pm on yesterday.
He said his years cycling had honed a Spiderman-like sense for danger on the roads that pinged the moment he saw the motorist in the black ute enter the corner “very fast”.
“My little Spidey-Sense went this is gonna go bad, it’s just a matter of how bad,” he said.
Dickinson instantly slowed and brought his own car to a stop while the black ute continued careening towards him.
The dash cam video shows the SUV struggling to make the bend as its rear wheels slide wide until one tyre pops off the road’s edge and into a drainage gutter.
The wheel appears to catch on the gutter, bouncing the ute onto two wheels and sending it swerving into the oncoming lane.
It then over-balances and rolls at speed into Dickinson’s bonnet.
Dickinson came out unhurt, crediting his 4WD’s height with keeping him safe. However, it could have ended differently had he been cycling or driving a smaller car with a cabin that could have been crushed, he said.
“If I was in anything other than a large 4WD, I wouldn’t be here today, it’s that simple,” he said.
The oncoming car bounced on to two wheels before over-balancing. Photo / James Dickinson
It then started rolling towards James Dickinson's vehicle. Photo / James Dickinson
After landing on Dickinson’s bonnet, the ute falls back onto the road in an upright position before rolling backwards.
Dickinson said he suspects the ute driver was knocked unconscious in the collision.
However, as other motorists rushed to his aid, he was able to talk to them.
“He had a cut or gash to his head,” Dickinson said.
“So he was holding his hand on his head to stop the bleeding, and he had blood all over his face.”
Then one of those helping found a gauze pad that stemmed the bleeding.
The helpers kept the man in position in the car to observe him and prevent him from moving until they were sure he was okay.
“Once he was alright, we helped him get out of the car and set him down on the side of the road just so he could gather himself,” Dickinson said.
He said he called 111 straight after the crash but it took five minutes to get through. Police and fire teams then arrived about 15-20 minutes later.
The vehicle slammed into Dickinson's bonnet. Photo / James Dickinson
It then bounced off Dickinson's bonnet and landed on the road upright. Photo / James Dickinson
However, Dickinson said he was told there were no ambulances and so it took a “wee while” for St John teams to get there.
A spokeswoman said police responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash on Scenic Dr about 5.39pm yesterday.
“One person was transported to hospital with moderate injuries,” she said.
As a Piha resident, Dickinson said he knows West Auckland motorists are frustrated after Cyclone Gabrielle had led to road closures but called on everyone to slow down and drive to the conditions.
He said what used to be about a 30-minute drive in from coastal Piha had now turned into about an one-to-one-and-a-half hour drive due to detours being routed through Bethells Beach.
“Everyone is driving at a vastly increased distance on roads that are just not set up for that amount of traffic, and they certainly aren’t set up for true open road driving,” he said.
The roads are narrow, often wet, constantly changing between light and dark shading due to overhanging trees, and there are even bigger dips on the side of the roads where the recent storms have washed out gravel and sand, he said.
“It’s just not an ideal situation for a large volume of people having to be forced to transit on a daily basis,” he said.
He called on authorities to implement better management of a section of Scenic Dr, between Waiatarua Fire Station and Elevation Brasserie, near the start of Piha Rd.
He said it’s closed but road workers are inconsistently letting some people through and preventing others, regardless of whether they are residents or not.
It would ease pressure on other roads if local residents could consistently be let through this section, especially given there are no restrictions at night on the road and motorists can travel through freely, Dickinson said.
