The small hatchback knocked out all four veranda pillars before coming to a rest in a power pole. PHOTO/COLIN HUTCHINS
MARY ARGUE
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It was an unusually busy scene outside a Featherston eatery on Monday morning when a car swerved into a veranda, narrowly avoiding the frontage of the Town and Country Cafe.
Emergency services said they responded to a single-vehicle crash on Fitzherbert St, State Highway 2, about 8am Monday.
The small black hatchback had veered off the road, ploughing through the veranda supports before coming to a rest in a power pole.
Wellington Free Ambulance said one person was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Featherston chief fire officer Colin McKenna said the driver and single occupant appeared to have travelled along the footpath.
He said there was no immediate fire danger, and the crash had been cordoned off with traffic management in place.
He said it was unlikely the Town and Country Café would open for business that day.
Passing the scene about 9.30am, a Martinborough resident said the car appeared to have been driving east along State Highway 2 into Featherston.
“It drove right through and snapped all four pillars of the veranda and stove head-on into the power pole and snapped that in half too.
“The bottom half of the power pole was smashed beyond recognition, and the top half was lying across the bonnet of the car.
“The front of the car was badly damaged,” he said.
He said the window and frontage of the cafe appeared to have escaped any damage, and onlookers suspected the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Police said inquiries into the cause of the crash were ongoing.
Powerco said they attended the scene and replaced the damaged power pole, and power was restored to two customers by 1.30pm on Monday.
