Witnesses sought as teen remains critical

Police are seeking witnesses to this crash which happened in the middle of torrential rain on Wednesday morning. It left a teenager seriously injured and brought down power poles on nearby cars. Photo / Ben Fraser

Police want to hear from anyone who saw a serious crash on Te Ngae Rd that left a teenager critically injured, as they try to piece together what happened.

A 16-year-old is in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit following Wednesday's crash outside Placemakers. It happened in the middle of flash flooding throughout the city.

The injured teen was a rear seat passenger in a car that hit a power pole. That led to a domino effect with two other power poles crashing down, one which hit three cars parked at Hume Pine. Power was also cut to nearby businesses and homes.

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.

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