A senior Bay of Plenty police officer was seriously injured in a car collision near Te Puke early on Wednesday morning.
Senior Sergeant Deirdre Lack, the officer in charge of the Te Puke station, suffered the injuries when her vehicle collided with another.
She is still undergoing surgery in Tauranga Hospital.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 19-year-old man, was also seriously injured.
A senior officer from outside Western Bay of Plenty will investigate the crash, which occurred at the intersection of State Highway 2 and Manoeka Road north of Te Puke.
The highway was temporarily closed while the trapped drivers were freed from their cars.
Police say Ms Lack was off-duty at the time.
