Amy Wiggins

Amy is the lifestyles reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times.

Car crash driver had a seizure

A Tauranga mother feared for her life when the car in front of her swerved across the road before smashing into a parked car and then a power pole yesterday.

Kristy Guthrie said the driver was having a seizure behind the wheel.

She had her baby in the car and was on her way to fetch her daughter from daycare. Ms Guthrie was driving along Oceanbeach Rd towards Bayfair when the red Honda in front of her crashed just before Girven Rd about 3pm.

"The car sped up about 50 metres down [from where it crashed] and then he just swerved off to the left, hit the black car which pinged out this way, and slammed into the power pole," she said.

"It was probably about 60 seconds that he was parked there with his foot straight on the accelerator.

"You could see the silhouette outline of his body in the car having a seizure."

Mrs Guthrie quickly pulled into a driveway to get away from the power pole which was tilted on a precarious angle and looked like it was about to fall over.

"It was pretty scary," she said.

The man was wearing a chef's uniform and told people he had epilepsy, she said.

Police, St John and fire fighters were called to the crash and set up a road block between Concord Ave and Girven Rd while the cars were cleared and the power lines fixed.

Acting Sergeant Logan Dingle said a red Honda had been travelling along the road heading towards Bayfair when the driver had a medical episode and lost control.

His car crashed into the back of a parked Subaru before slamming into the power pole. The impact also bowed and cracked the next power pole along.

Power to a large section of the road was cut off while technicians worked to fix the power poles.

The driver was not injured but was taken to Tauranga Hospital for treatment for his medical condition.

- Bay of Plenty Times

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