Dairy farmer Bill Pile, who lives in the area, criticised the council's road maintenance.
But the council's assets group manager, Neil Jorgensen, said Steward Rd was graded eight to 10 times a year and was one of the most maintained roads in the district.
Road inspections were undertaken regularly and there had been no complaints about potholes or the condition of Steward Rd. It had last been graded on October 10 and had been due for another grading, which was carried out on Wednesday evening.
The crash occurred about 8.30am on Wednesday when a woman was driving four children aged between 5 and 12 years to school. The Ford Ranger crashed through a fence and into a thick hedge of trees. The utility suffered major frontal damage, but the passengers were protected by seat belts and airbags which prevented serious injury.
Mr Pile was adamant the condition of the road caused the crash, and that appeared to be supported by the position of tyre marks in the gravel when the Otago Daily Times visited Steward Rd. The utility, which was travelling towards Seven Mile Rd, appears to have dropped the left side into a pothole, veered to the right and caught the right edge, then swerved sharply left into the hedge. Patches of road had potholes filled with water after recent rain.
Mr Pile has been a regular critic of the council's maintenance of its shingle roads. But Mr Jorgensen said Steward Rd was inspected and maintained regularly. No service request or concern about the condition of Steward Rd had been logged, he said.
The council would normally inspect roads when complaints were received and programme additional work if needed.
"We do ask people to take care on gravel roads as their condition can change rapidly depending on weather and vehicle use. Drivers should be aware that potholes and corrugations can be present at any time and especially after wet weather and/or regular heavy vehicle usage," he said.
Crashes were taken seriously and Mr Jorgensen asked that all incidents be reported to the police and council so any investigations into the causes could be completed.
"We are thankful that there were no serious injuries in this case," he said.
