Golf cart hits man

THE Youthtown Trust Rescue Helicopter responded to a different type of vehicle accident yesterday after a 66-year-old man was struck by a golf cart.

The accident happened on the ninth hole of Wairakei Golf Course, near Taupo. Helicopter pilot Hendry de Waal said the elderly man was in "quite a bit of pain, he had a dislocated shoulder, fractured ribs, might have some type of internal injuries as well."

De Waal said the golfer driving the cart was not known to the injured man.

"Apparently he was just riding his cart and he hit one of those kerbs, he just lost control and crashed over this poor guy," he said.

The victim was trapped under the cart until his fellow golfers lifted it off him.

St John advanced paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was flown to Waikato Hospital for further assessment.

De Waal said the golf cart accident was a first for him: "This is an odd one, it's usually motor vehicle accidents and stuff like that. But a golf cart, that's quite a new one." Nobody at Wairakei International Golf Course could be reached for comment.

At the time of going to print Waikato Hospital media spokeswoman Mary-Anne Gill said the man was in a stable condition and had been placed in a ward.