21 May

A woman was admitted to intensive care after the car she was driving on the wrong side of the road, with its lights off, collided head-on with a van.

Police suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, which happened about 4.50am yesterday on the Wainuiomata Hill Road.

The three passengers in the Holden Commodore a man, a woman and a three-year-old were treated and discharged from Hutt Hospital.

The Mitsubishi van driver, on his way to work when the crash happened, was unhurt.

Detective Sergeant Scott Cooper said the serious crash unit would investigate this week and blood tests would reveal if alcohol was a factor.

“We won’t know until that’s analysed … that could be a couple of weeks.”

Charges were possible, he said.

The crash was near a lookout on Wainuiomata Hill, on a stretch of road with a median barrier in place.

“At a guess, they’ve driven down from the lookout.”

It was not known whether the passengers had been wearing seatbelts, or whether the child was buckled up.

The car and van were both badly damaged in the accident and two points of impact were visible on the car’s windshield.

The vehicles were towed to a secure location for further investigation.

A Hutt Hospital spokesman said the injured driver was stable and improving in intensive care yesterday.

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Three adults and a toddler are in hospital after their car and a van collided at the summit of the Wainuiomata Hill road this morning. Lower Hutt area commander Inspector Richard Chambers said the car, a dark-coloured Holden Commodore, and the van collided at 4.50 this morning.

The occupants of the Holden have been taken to hospital, with two suffering serious chest injuries. The male driver of the van was uninjured. The accident had blocked the road, the main access route between the suburb and Wellington, however emergency services have now cleared the accident site and re-opened the road.

Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 04 560 2600.