Tree stops plunging car

BY BEN STRANG

A pregnant woman was flown to Wellington Hospital after the car she was in plunged down a bank in Reikorangi on Tuesday.

The woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, was reportedly discharged yesterday, with no concern for her baby. A passenger transported by ambulance was also discharged yesterday.

The 25-year-old driver of the car was unhurt in the crash, on a section of Reikorangi Rd known as devil's elbow, at about 5.15pm. Sergeant Ron Walker said the car failed to take a right hand bend and crashed down a bank into dense bush.

A large tree about 10 metres down the bank stopped the car's descent towards the Waikanae River, which would have been far worse for the occupants, said Mr Walker.

The driver's 29-year-old partner was flown to hospital in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter after the chopper's search and rescue crew spent about two hours removing the woman from the vehicle, due to concerns around her pregnancy.

The back-seat passenger, a 25-year-old man, was taken to hospital by ambulance and discharged yesterday.

Mr Walker said the work of the fire brigades, ambulance staff and paramedic Chris Lane was superb.

Reikorangi Rd resident Robyn Grundmann, whose letterbox was sent flying down the bank, said the emergency services were amazing.

"They were here in five minutes, the helicopter was here in 15 minutes. People say they don't respond quickly but they were so fast, they are amazing."

Her father, Willi Grundmann, has seen a large number of crashes since moving to the corner in 1985.

Initially there was a crash on the corner about every four months, he said, but the addition of reflectors on the side of the road had helped stop accidents.

It was the first crash he had seen on the corner in some time, and only a few of the incidents he had seen on the corner involved vehicles heading into Waikanae.

"It is quite a dangerous bend, it gets tighter and tighter as you go around it, and if you are coming from Waikanae you have a dip before the corner and before you know it you're down the bank," he said.

"I don't know what else we could do here, we could put up some more warning signs I guess."

Mr Grundmann said he had even seen a police car crash down the bank in the past.

Mr Walker said a full investigation into the crash would begin today.

- Kapiti Observer