The first member of the public on the scene of a crash at roadworks in Napier says the drivers involved are fortunate they didn’t end up at the bottom of the site’s major excavation.
Two eastbound cars crashed about 7.25pm on Monday, through fencing at the Herrick St-Taradale Culverts Upgrade on Taradale Rd, part of a Napier City Council stormwater improvement project to alleviate flood risk in the area.
A Hato Hone St John Ambulance spokesperson said one person was taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in a serious condition.
Police say they are investigating the crash.
It happened despite warnings that include an electronic display approaching the site, which is near the intersection of Taradale Rd and Alpers Terrace and within 200 metres of the Napier Fire Station.
The works includes the restriction of up to 300 metres of the Alpers Terrace-Hyderabad Rd sector of Taradale Rd (State Highway 51) to just the eastbound lane.
It has been closed to westbound traffic since January 25, and the council expects it to remain closed until work on the culvert beneath Taradale Rd is complete, anticipated in mid-August.
A resident told Hawke’s Bay Today he heard the cars skidding and hitting the fence.
He went outside and called emergency services.
It appeared occupants were out of the vehicles “but everyone was screaming”, he said.
One vehicle had nosed into the excavation, possibly glancing a digger bucket on the way.
“The [other] one was right on the edge ready to fall,” he said.
He said there was “drizzle” at the time and he often hears skidding as vehicles hit and accelerate out of a dip in the road at the roadworks.
Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, born into a lifestyle of journalism and this week marks 53 years in the newspaper and media industry, in Wairarapa, Wellington and Hawke’s Bay.