Waikato Police investigating the cause of a crash that left one person critically injured and another seriously hurt are asking people coming across crash scenes not to drive through them, but to stop.
Officer in charge of the Te Awamutu Strategic Traffic Unit, Sergeant Warren Shaw, said Police were also appealing for witnesses to come forward.
"The crash happened near the SH3- Te Rahu / Ngaroto Roads intersection, north of Te Awamutu about 3.15pm.
"Fortunately for the injured an ambulance was travelling on SH3 at the time and responded in seconds as did a number of locals and off-duty hospital staff. Unfortunately while these people worked to stabilise the injured, both north and bound drivers tried to continue through the crash scene in one southbound lane putting first responders at risk."
Mr Shaw said the common sense approach for anyone encountering a serious crash scene in the early stages before emergency services had responded was to pull over to the side of the road and turn your hazard lights on.
"Crash scenes can appear somewhat chaotic in the initial stages, the last thing you want is drivers making it worse, having said that most people do try to assist which was evident at yesterday's scene.
"The investigation into the cause of the crash is still underway and at this stage we're asking for any witnesses who saw the collision to come forward."
Mr Shaw said Police would also like to hear from anyone who saw the grey/ silver Mitsubishi utility or the white Nissan Navara utility prior to the crash.
The male driver of the Mitsubishi underwent surgery overnight and is currently in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's Intensive Care Unit while the female driver of the Navara is in a stable condition in a hospital ward.
Anyone with any information on yesterday's crash is asked to contact Mr Shaw at the Te Awamutu Police Station on 07 872 0100.
End
