Friday, November 3, 2006

A New Zealand police car landed on its roof after colliding with a truck in Upper Hutt at 9am NZDT (2100 UTC) today, closing State Highway 2.

The highway patrol car flipped, and its siren-lights ripped off, during a collision with two other cars at an intersection of River Road and Gibbons Street.

The police officer had minor injuries, but needed surgery to his hand and the truck driver was not hurt, a police communications spokesman said.

The Serious Crash Unit is currently investigating.

Senior Sergeant Benge says police are speaking with witnesses, but will not have a clear idea about what happened until they can speak with the people involved in the crash. He says that could be a few days away.

Benge says initial investigations indicate the police car was not involved in a pursuit, however witnesses say the car appeared to be rushing to a job with lights flashing.

The truck was carrying a load of windows and shattered glass was scattered over the intersection.