Cherie Taylor | Daily Post | Tuesday, October 26, 2010 16:00
Hundreds of holidaymakers heading to Tikitapu (Blue Lake) were left stranded and trying to find shade on the side of the road after a car crashed into a bank and flipped on Tarawera Rd yesterday afternoon.
Two Rotorua people, the only people in the Shelby AC Cobra sports car, were taken to Rotorua Hospital by St John Ambulance - one with serious injuries including back injuries, the other in a moderate condition.
Rotorua Police Highway patrol sergeant Chris McLeod told The Daily Post that while the crash was still being investigated by police, it appeared the driver had lost control on a moderate right-hand bend about 2km south of the water tower, heading towards Tikitapu (Blue Lake).
Four sets of tyre marks swerve across the opposite side of the road into a bank and back across into the lane the car was travelling.
Debris from the sports car was strewn across both lanes of the main road to Lake Okareka, Lake Tarawera and the Green and Blue lakes.
The car had come to rest about 200m south of where the first skid marks start on the slowly sloping roadway.
Mr McLeod said it was probably "lucky" other motorists weren't travelling in the opposite direction at the same time as the crash as someone else could have been seriously injured.
Rotorua Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy told reporters speed appeared to be the cause of the crash but could not say whether charges would be laid yet.
"It went round a sweeping bend at speed, lost control and flipped.
"The force of the crash ripped the petrol tank from the vehicle," Mr Murphy
said.
The driver was thrown clear of the car but the passenger was trapped and had to be cut out, he added.
The serious crash unit is investigating.
Motorists heading to the lakes and heading towards Rotorua were left stuck in the sunshine on the side of the road for about an hour as St John Ambulance paramedics tended to the injured and took them to hospital and the road was cleared of debris.
Nick Bradley, from Auckland said he was a bit disappointed at finding himself trapped on the side on the road while police cleared away the mess.
"I was looking forward to a swim before we leave the camp ground but I guess we will be just packing up and leaving now.
"I guess one bonus is that no body appears to have been seriously hurt though," he said.
"We'll be back in the summer though.
"The weather has been just perfect."
Meanwhile, Rotorua police are wanting to speak with anyone who witnessed the crash or saw the green open-top sports car on Monday afternoon prior to the crash about 3pm on Tarawera Rd.
Hundreds of holidaymakers heading to Tikitapu (Blue Lake) were left stranded and trying to find shade on the side of the road after a car crashed into a bank and flipped on Tarawera Rd yesterday afternoon.
Two Rotorua people, the only people in the Shelby AC Cobra sports car, were taken to Rotorua Hospital by St John Ambulance - one with serious injuries including back injuries, the other in a moderate condition.
Rotorua Police Highway patrol sergeant Chris McLeod told The Daily Post that while the crash was still being investigated by police, it appeared the driver had lost control on a moderate right-hand bend about 2km south of the water tower, heading towards Tikitapu (Blue Lake).
Four sets of tyre marks swerve across the opposite side of the road into a bank and back across into the lane the car was travelling.
Debris from the sports car was strewn across both lanes of the main road to Lake Okareka, Lake Tarawera and the Green and Blue lakes.
The car had come to rest about 200m south of where the first skid marks start on the slowly sloping roadway.
Mr McLeod said it was probably "lucky" other motorists weren't travelling in the opposite direction at the same time as the crash as someone else could have been seriously injured.
Rotorua Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy told reporters speed appeared to be the cause of the crash but could not say whether charges would be laid yet.
"It went round a sweeping bend at speed, lost control and flipped.
"The force of the crash ripped the petrol tank from the vehicle," Mr Murphy
said.
The driver was thrown clear of the car but the passenger was trapped and had to be cut out, he added.
The serious crash unit is investigating.
Motorists heading to the lakes and heading towards Rotorua were left stuck in the sunshine on the side of the road for about an hour as St John Ambulance paramedics tended to the injured and took them to hospital and the road was cleared of debris.
Nick Bradley, from Auckland said he was a bit disappointed at finding himself trapped on the side on the road while police cleared away the mess.
"I was looking forward to a swim before we leave the camp ground but I guess we will be just packing up and leaving now.
"I guess one bonus is that no body appears to have been seriously hurt though," he said.
"We'll be back in the summer though.
"The weather has been just perfect."
Meanwhile, Rotorua police are wanting to speak with anyone who witnessed the crash or saw the green open-top sports car on Monday afternoon prior to the crash about 3pm on Tarawera Rd.
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