An elderly man was taken to Gisborne Hospital with serious injuries on Tuesday afternoon after the car he was in veered off Tiniroto Road and came to rest on the bank of the Hangaroa River.
The crash occurred at approximately 2.45pm.
“The car, with two men inside, left the road at Hangaroa and went about four metres down a bank,” a senior firefighter said. “It stopped on the edge of the river.”
Seat belts and airbags minimised injuries, the firefighter added.
The men activated a personal locator beacon to alert emergency services to their situation.
A St John ambulance spokesperson said one of the men suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment. “The other man, also elderly, was not injured,” they said.
Police, fire crews from Tiniroto, Patutahi and Gisborne, and St John ambulance staff attended the scene.
