A 35-year-old Hamilton woman remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital today after a freak accident in which a starter motor flew through her car window.
She and her husband were driving north on State Highway 3 south of Hamilton about 8.20pm yesterday when a starter motor, apparently from a south-bound car, smashed through the windscreen of their Mitsubishi Legnum car.
It hit the woman, who was in the front passenger seat, on the head.
A mechanic said today it was almost impossible for a starter motor or an alternator to have been flung from a car in such a way.
"That's a highly improbable scenario," he said.
"I'd say the item was either thrown by someone or was on the back of a ute and bounced off."
Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said it was probable the starter motor came from a vehicle going south.
Police have appealed to anyone who may know where the starter motor came from to contact them.
In November 2000, a Pukekohe plasterer died in a similar accident.
Eddie Tavinor, 32, was decapitated when a truck driveshaft disintegrated and its front universal joint smashed through the windscreen of his Mazda ute on Auckland's southern motorway.
- nzpa
Woman hit by starter motor
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