Trucks involved in three crashes
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Kaikoura
The driver of a truck which crashed on State Highway 1 on Thursday morning can count himself lucky there was not a more serious outcome after he had to be freed from his cab by emergency services.
The accident happened at 6.30am when the northbound refrigerated articulated truck and trailer failed to negotiate a left hand corner about 200m south of the Conway bridge.
The truck rolled onto its side and slid into the rock bank on the opposite side of the road, from where the diver had to be freed by the Cheviot fire brigade and ambulance officers.
He was flown by air ambulance to Christchurch Hospital where he was being treated for fractures to his neck and collarbone.
The truck was carrying a load of french fries and had left Christchurch at 4.30am, heading for Picton.
The accident meant the road was closed for an hour in both directions while the scene, including a lot of spilled diesel, was cleared.
Kaikoura police constable Dean Schroder said the cause of the accident was still under investigation and police would be speaking to those involved, including an eye witness who was in the vehicle behind the truck, before determining exactly how the accident had come about.
Two more crashes on Friday kept emergency services busy throughout the day.
The first occurred just north of the Okarahia stream in the Hundalees at 10am.
A car travelling south clipped the rear mudguard of a truck and trailer unit travelling in the opposite direction, which blocked the road for a short time.
Police from Cheviot and fire crew from Kaikoura attended the scene and cleared the road.
There were no injuries.
On Friday evening just after 9pm Kaikoura police and the fire brigade were called out once more to an accident just south of Kaikoura in which the back section of an articulated truck had become separated from the cab and crashed into a bank.
The truck was carrying frozen food.
The driver was unhurt but the scene took two and a half hours to clear.
The Kaikoura fire brigade eventually moved the damaged trailer to a safe area.
It was believed a mechanical fault caused the rear trailer to become unattached from the rest of the vehicle.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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