Five to hospital and in custody after Waikato crash.
A crash on a Waikato highway has sent five people to hospital with moderate to serious injuries while the driver of one of the cars has been arrested on drug and theft charges.
Five people have ended up in hospital and one in police custody after a crash on SH39 around 11.20 on Sunday night.
The collision between the north-bound white Holden Commodore and the south-bound Honda Accord happened near the intersection of Kakaramea and Meadway roads.
Sergeant Damien O’Kane of the Huntly Police said a 16-year-old female front seat passenger in the Commodore suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to Waikato Hospital’s High Dependency Unit.
Waikato police are now working with their Canterbury colleagues to locate her family.
“A priority for our staff now is to work with our Canterbury colleagues to identify and locate family of the injured girl who has not been reported missing,” said O’Kane.
A male passenger from the front seat of the Honda also sustained serious injuries. It took more than an hour for fire-fighters to free him from the wreckage.
Three other passengers from the Honda were taken to the hospital by ambulance for moderate to serious injuries.
The serious crash unit is working to determine the cause of the accident and the driver of the Holden has been arrested.
“Though unhurt, the driver of the Commodore has plenty to worry about because the vehicle he was driving has been reported stolen from Rolleston outside of Christchurch. When searched, officers found 28 grams of what is believed to be methamphetamine, a pipe and syringes in his property,” said O’Kane.
The man is already facing drugs charges and has now been charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, possession of utensils, and theft of a motor vehicle.
SH39 has been re-opened but was closed for about five hours with diversions put in place while the crash scene was cleared and the collision investigated.
