Updated: Boy injured, power lines down in rainy crash

A serious crash on Te Ngae Rd brought down three power lines and caused major disruption for motorists. Photo / Ben Fraser

A serious crash which left a 16-year-old boy in Waikato Hospital with life-threatening injuries was the only crash during the torrential rainfall which hit Rotorua yesterday.

Police want to hear from anyone who saw a crash on Te Ngae Rd as they try to piece together what happened.

The boy remains in a critical but stable condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care. He was a rear passenger in a car that collided with a powerpole.

If anyone saw the crash they can contact Rotorua police Senior Constable Grant Keys on (07) 348 0099.

Rotorua police

That led to a domino effect with two other powerpoles crashing down and power cuts to nearby Hume Pine. One powerpole crashed onto three parked cars.

Rotorua road policing manager Acting Senior Sergeant Lee Stringer said it was too early in the investigation to speculate why the car crashed.

"We're piecing together the witness statements we do have and the vehicle is being examined today but it's too early [to speculate]," he said.

Mr Stringer said overall motorists were well-behaved during the torrential rainfall which caused flooding and road closures across roads in the district.

He said such was the "tension and weight" on the power lines that two other power lines came down in a domino effect. The crash caused significant disruptions for those travelling eastbound with both lanes closed between 9am and 12pm. Mr Stringer said they were able to let some traffic through, but because the crash happened right in the middle of the deluge there were delays.

Mr Stringer said overall police were pleased with the way drivers behaved yesterday. "It was good to see a large number of our community driving to the conditions and being sensible. Considering the huge amount of water and roading issues it was great to see people being careful."

Hume Pine manager Craig Peters said while they didn't hear the crash, they saw the power poles fall. Three cars were damaged and the business was left without power for the day.

Mr Peters said they'd found a back-up generator.

If anyone saw the crash they can contact Rotorua police Senior Constable Grant Keys on (07) 348 0099.