Accident Location at Erua
I was travelling from Auckland to Wanganui on Saturday 5th July 2008, when it started snowing heavily at Erua. As I approached the corner at the top of a hill that leads down to a hairpin, then under a railway bridge, I was concerned about whether negotiating this stretch of road would be safe, due to the steepness and the hairpin at the bottom. It wasn't! Nine cars travelling ahead of me ended up in the ditch against the bank, when they lost control.I had been testing my brakes along the level part leading to this stretch and found conditions very slippery, so I stopped at the top, got out and found it difficult to even stand up. So I turned around and went back to National Park for the night! This photo shows a snow plough passing my car (parked somewhat in the middle of the road!) just after I had turned around.
You can see the start of the corner that leads down the hill to where the other cars went into the bank trying to stop while going down! I took a look down the hill and saw them before I turned around. They are just out of sight behind the snow plough, and a bit further down the hill.
Copyright © 2010 Alan Miles, Auckland, New Zealand.
