Head-on crash barely averted

BARRY HARCOURT / The Southland Times

ANKLE INJURIES: Fire crews cut a Southland woman from a car involved in a crash on State Highway 94 near Te Anau on Thursday.

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A Contiki bus driver has been hailed a Christmas Eve hero by police after he drove his bus off the road to avoid a potentially fatal head-on crash near Te Anau.

Bus driver Mike Rodgers said he was driving the bus with 24 mostly Australian tourists on State Highway 94 when he saw a Ford Falcon approaching.

Initially thinking the vehicle was pulling out to overtake another car, he waited for the car to cross back over, but it never did, he said.

He pulled the bus towards the far left of the road, moving it further and further off the road as the two vehicles drew closer, and drove it in the roadside ditch for about 100m to avoid a head-on crash, he said.

The two vehicles collided when the bus was off the road, he said.

Constable Finn Murphy, of Te Anau, said Mr Rodgers' actions had saved lives. "He did a really good job," he said.

Crash investigations were continuing, but it appeared the Falcon, driven west by a Southland woman, had crossed the centre line into the path of the bus, he said.

The vehicles eventually collided and the woman had to be cut from the car, he said.

She was taken to Southland Hospital with ankle injuries. No passengers on the bus were injured.

Contiki New Zealand operations manager Murray Scott said Mr Rodgers had done well to keep his passengers safe and avoid a more serious crash.

"By all accounts, he's done an outstanding job," he said.

"We are very proud of him. He's done very well."

The company was also grateful for the help of a Connexions bus that stopped and picked up the Contiki passengers, he said.

Asked if Mr Rodgers would enjoy a Christmas bonus for his efforts, Mr Scott said "he'll be looked after".

- © Fairfax NZ News