A bus and truck crash on Auckland’s Northern Motorway this morning left one person injured – with northbound lanes closed for more than four hours until one lane could be reopened.
Emergency services were called to the incident near the Oteha Valley off-ramp just after 6am.
Police said the crash was between a bus and a truck and trailer. The bus sustained substantial damage in the impact that also tipped the trailer onto its side.
One person received minor injuries.
In an update just after 11am, NZ Transport Agency said the clean-up was ongoing, with one northbound lane reopened. All lanes in that direction had previously been shut.
Lizelle Erasmus was getting out of her car at the nearby Albany Bus Station when she witnessed the crash.
She told 1News the truck hit the back-right corner of the bus, crashed into the centre barrier, and the trailer flipped over.
“I saw smoke coming from the bus and the driver opening the doors.”
The damage to the rear of the bus was severe, she added.
“I’m really glad the bus was empty – if someone was in the back, they would have been seriously injured or dead.”