Despite spending two hours seriously injured and trapped in the cab of his crashed logging truck, a driver was in good spirits after emergency services freed him.
Police praised the “team effort” to free the man using specialist equipment from Dunedin, following the incident in Coe Rd, 10km north of Balclutha, about 11am yesterday.
The accident occurred in rainy conditions on a descending S-bend of the rural gravel road, about 2.5km from State Highway1.
The truck appeared to have missed a corner, sliding down a 4m embankment and rolling before coming to rest on its side, leaving logs strewn across a paddock.
Acting Senior Sergeant Robin Hutton said police commercial vehicle accident investigators were still assessing what may have happened.
“It’s too early to comment on any cause for the accident, but emergency services personnel today have made a fantastic team effort to get the driver out safely in a very difficult rescue.”
He said the driver appeared to be “buoyant” on emerging from the wreck.
“The driver was certainly very pleased to be freed and was conscious and talking to his rescuers throughout.”
He was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition.
— Additional reporting Richard Davison
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