21 Jul 2015

Patient dies after ambulance crash

6:30 pm on 21 July 2015

Police are continuing to investigate if the crash of an ambulance in Northland today contributed to the death of a patient it was carrying.

They said an already critically ill patient died at the scene after the ambulance hit a power pole this morning near Moerewa.

The drama was heightened because nobody was sure if power lines draped over the accident scene were live.

The police said they had completed an initial investigation but did not at this stage know if the crash was a contributing factor to the patient's death.

They said ambulance staff went out every day to save lives and it was very unfortunate in this case that there had been a crash.

St John said one staff member was in a stable condition in Whangarei Hospital.

Two others have been discharged.

A worker from the nearby BP, Michele Mahanga, said the weather was fine at the time of the crash however the road was still wet from previous rain.

The crash partially closed State Highway One, which has now returned to normal.