A high-speed car chase that ended in a vehicle catapulting into a power pole is being described as the “best possible outcome”.
Emergency services from Greytown and Featherston were called to a car versus power pole incident on State Highway 2 near Tauherenikau at 2.15pm on Saturday.
A medical event reportedly caused the driver to leave the southbound lane and crash headlong into a power pole carrying 11,000-volt lines.
Greytown Fire Brigade deputy chief officer Seth Rance said the person had extricated himself when emergency services arrived. The brigade provided scene protection, cordoning off the live wires, and diverting traffic.
The driver was transported by ambulance to Wairarapa Hospital with moderate injuries.
The crash closed the road between Greytown and the intersection at SH2 and No 1 Line for several hours while the Serious Crash Unit [SCU] attended and power was restored to 48 households.
Witnesses described it as a terrifying ordeal and said if were not for the heroic actions of other motorists, there would have been fatalities.