A man trapped with ‘‘severe" leg injuries waited 90 minutes before he could be freed from the van he was driving following a major head-on crash at Maketu overnight.
Six people were taken to Tauranga Hospital with injuries ranging from serious to minor. The crash was the first of five in the Western Bay overnight.
The 46-year-old man had been driving a van with four unrestrained passengers when the vehicle collided with an oncoming car on Maketu Rd about 8.20pm.
The driver suffered severe leg injury and was trapped in the wreckage for 90 minutes as emergency services worked to free him.
The TrustPower TECT Rescue Helicopter flew the man to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition.
His female passengers were also treated and taken to hospital.
A St John ambulance spokesman said a 43-year-old woman suffered a possible fractured arm, a 40-year-old woman suffered neck pain, a 45-year-old woman suffered minor injuries to her ribs and pain to her abdomen, and a 35-year-old woman had pain to her knee.
The female driver and sole occupant of the car was also taken to hospital with chest injuries.
All patients are understood to be from Maketu.
Tauranga police Sergeant Chris Summerville said in addition to the Maketu crash, about 150m of cable barrier was wiped out in a crash on State Highway 2 near Bethlehem early this morning.
The driver was not seriously injured.
A crash between two cars on Maunganui Rd, near Bayfair roundabout forced traffic into one lane at 6.15am today.
Police were also called to a T-bone crash at the intersection of Cameron Rd and 23rd Ave at 22.40pm. No one was injured.
Police were also made aware of a crash near Kaituna Rd about 1.15am.
The driver notified police that he had crashed into a fence but had arranged with the farmer to repair.
- Bay of Plenty Times
