Police say fatigued driver lucky crash was witnessed by following driver

22 February 2013

Warning the public of the risks of driving while fatigued, Hamilton Police say a man was extremely lucky a witness saw his utility fly across a paddock and crash into a creek on the City's outskirts this morning.

Sergeant Phil Ruddell of the Hamilton Strategic Traffic Unit said emergency services were called to the settlement of Temple View at about 6.30am after a motorist saw the vehicle in front of them come to a spectacular stop.

"The utility the motorist was following suddenly left the road, crashed through a fence before travelling over 300m across a paddock and crashing through another fence before coming to rest in a drain.

"Given the slope and the fact the utility came to rest in the drain below the paddock, had the witness not seen the crash it is likely the injured 28-year-old driver would have remain unseen and unaccounted for, for several hours."

Mr Ruddell said fire-fighters used cutting equipment to free the man from the cab of his utility and he was transported to Waikato Hospital by ambulance with moderate injuries.

"Initial indications suggest fatigue was a major factor in what caused the crash. Because the crashed vehicle could not be seen from the road the driver may have laid trapped inside his vehicle for hours until someone decided to check what caused the damage to the fences.

"This highlights the need for motorists to drive to survive and if you are tired you need to pull over and have arrest, if you don't it's not just your life you're putting at risk but the lives of other drivers as well."

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