"Flames started coming from under the trees at this point, so I asked them to send all the three services. My daughter brought me a bucket of water from inside the house and the police arrived soon."
As police approached the car to look for potential survivors, other neighbours joined the firefighting effort. As the fire service arrived, the flames were doused.
Local resident and first on the scene Nelly Vander Oord spent hours waiting for the scene to be cleared. Photo / Tania Whyte.
Oord is worried about the traffic getting busier on the bridge.
"I've seen three crashes in the last four years. People do not go at 60 kilometres per hour here, but at least 70 or 80 km/ph. The slope and the turn are very risky.
"These roads are getting busier. In the last four years since I moved here, the traffic has almost doubled."
Another resident was drawn to the accident after hearing a loud noise around 11pm. That person believed - from what they could see - the vehicle went over the bank and landed in the creek.
"We heard a couple of vehicles go up the road and the next thing we knew that there were fire engines and ambulances turning up. We heard a lot of shouting there."
A Fulton Hogan worker cleans out car remains from the Te Hihi Stream. Photo / Tania Whyte.
Residents in the area were concerned about the safety of their properties due to the increasing traffic.
One told the Advocate: "We sort of live in fear in our house. Twice in the past truck wheels had rolled into the property, one hitting the house and the other one luckily missed us.
"It is a very risky turn and, with the increasing traffic, it becomes easier for anyone to crash into our property."
