'Very lucky' escape for occupants of car which hit pole, causing power outage

Thursday, 27 August 2020

The car collided with a power pole at the intersection of Kawakawa Bay Coast Rd and Karaka Rd about 11.35pm Wednesday.

Four occupants of a car which collided with a power pole in Auckland’s Kawakawa Bay had a “very lucky” escape, according to a firefighter.

The late-night crash at the intersection of Kawakawa Bay Coast Rd and Karaka Rd on Wednesday initially took out the power to the local fire station and the bay itself.

Vector said the car caused significant damage to the pole and multiple other pieces of electrical equipment.

Jason Harford, Kawakawa Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer, told Stuff although the car had a “decent impact” with the pole about 11.35pm, it was “fortunate” the way it hit it.

“It hit on the right-hand quarter of the car. There was no sort of real intrusion into the main cabin of the car, it was sort of a glancing blow.”

Two of the car’s four occupants were taken to hospital with moderate injuries.

However, the damage to the car did not look “glancing”.

Photos posted to the fire brigade’s Facebook page show most of the car’s driver’s side ripped open, a missing tyre and a missing front bumper.

It can be seen next to the vehicle a few metres away.

Harford said the car’s airbags had deployed, but not all of the occupants were wearing seatbelts.

Kawakawa Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer Jason Harford described the occupants as “very lucky”.

The post said it looked like the car had lost control.

As the officer in charge of the scene, Harford said he was “brought up to speed pretty quickly” when he arrived as the car crashed right in front of two volunteer firefighters’ houses.

A historic home on Abel Smith Street in Wellington has suffered major fire damage.

“They were very lucky – it was a good result,” Harford said.

A St John spokeswoman said two patients in a moderate condition were transported to Middlemore Hospital.

Police confirmed officers had attended the crash.

A spokeswoman for Vector said the car caused significant damage to the pole and multiple other pieces of electrical equipment.

Excavation work had to be taken, including bringing a digger in, she said.

“Power was able to be partially restored to the majority of affected customers around 1am, and crews are now in the process of installing a new pole, with full power restoration to the small number of customers still affected, expected at around 1pm today.”