Menace at scene of crash

Peter de Graaf | 7th March 2010

Up to five people were taken to hospital and three arrested when bystanders got aggressive after a car crash in the Far North.

The head-on crash involving a car and a campervan occurred about 6.15pm on Thursday on Taupo Bay Rd,  one kilometre from the intersection with State Highway 10 and about 10km east of Mangonui.

Ambulances from Mangonui and Kerikeri were sent to the scene, as well as the Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter with two advanced paramedics on board.

However, their work was hampered by a group of bystanders - thought to have been friends and relatives of the five people in the car - who  had become aggressive.

Mangonui Constable Steve Robinson said it appeared the car had been on the wrong side of the road when it rounded a corner and hit a campervan driven by  overseas tourists head-on.

"There was a bit of disorder - not necessarily from people involved in the accident - but once we dealt with two people, things calmed down and everybody could get on with their work," he said.

 The German visitors  had been threatened but not assaulted. The bystanders had left the tourists alone once they had realised they were not at fault.

Alcohol and speed appeared to have played a part in the crash.

Three people, all from the Far North, were arrested and later released without charge. Charges relating to the crash, however, were expected to follow.

St John Northland operations manager Tony Devanney said one patient, a young man with moderate internal injuries, was airlifted to Whangarei Hospital.

His condition worsened overnight due to internal bleeding and other complications, so he was transferred to Auckland City Hospital about 6am yesterday. The other patients sustained only minor injuries.

Aggression at accidents happened all too often, Mr Devanney said.

"There's a lot of aggressive people out there. You're trying to help them, but they're taking their anger for what's happened out on you. Sometimes they're also full of alcohol - that definitely makes it worse."

Mr Devanney said there was often yelling and screaming at accident scenes, with people expecting immediate miracles or forgetting other people were in need of help.

"Some scenes get very tense, very aggressive. If it's not safe we won't enter, or we just back off and let the police deal with it."

Staying safe around aggressive patients or bystanders was part of basic St John training, he said.