State Highway 1 crash: Passers-by haul person from car in Lake Taupō

Passers-by have pulled a person from a car which left State Highway 1 and came to rest in Lake Taupō, near Rawhira Rd.

Nigel Ackerman, from Palmerston North, said he was at the SH1 rest stop before Waitetoko Beach Reserve when he saw a grey ute go off the road and into the water.

“We were just down here having a cup of tea,” Ackerman said.

“We heard this noise. Next thing you know he was in the lake.”

Ackerman said the ute came off the road and went about 10 metres into the lake.

“There was a group of young guys who went in and grabbed him straight out of the car.”

Ackerman said the same group performed CPR on the man and later drove the ute back out of the water.

A Waikato Herald reporter at the scene said the crash victim was being loaded onto a Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson told the Waikato Herald a 111 call came in regarding the crash at 2.11pm.

“There was a car that has gone off the road into the water,” the spokesperson said.

“It appears it was a medical event.”

The spokesperson said members of the public pulled the person from the car before emergency services arrived at the scene in the Tauranga-Taupō area this afternoon.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said one person was transported to Waikato Hospital by helicopter in critical condition.

“We responded with two ambulances and one helicopter.”

A Greenlea Rescue Helicopter spokesperson said one helicopter was on the scene, 15km north of Tūrangi, near SH1.

A police spokesperson said officers were at the scene of a single-vehicle crash on SH1 near Rawhira Rd, Taupō.

“One person is believed to be in a critical condition,” the spokesperson said.

“The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.”

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.