Crimeline
Serious head on crash – Glenorchy Road
Queenstown firefighters had to use the ‘jaws of life’ to cut a seriously injured Kiwi driver from his vehicle after emergency services responded to a head on crash on the Glenorchy Road just before 3.30pm on Monday (Labour Day).
Constable Amanda Shute says initial investigations show one of the vehicles appears to have allegedly crossed the centreline and collided with another vehicle.
Police say just two New Zealand drivers were involved in the accident during Monday’s wintry weather conditions, one in a Subaru Legacy and another in a Ford Ranger.
Fire and Emergency NZ group manager Central Otago Bobby Lamont says the accident occurred just past Bleakley’s Bridge on the Queenstown side of the Moke Lake turnoff and Queenstown volunteer firefighters had to cut the seriously injured driver free.
Otago Lakes Road Policing Sergeant Bruce Martin says that driver was flown to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries by Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter.
A St John Ambulance spokesperson says two ambulances and the rescue helicopter responded with the serious driver flown to hospital while the other driver was taken to Lakes District Hospital by ambulance with moderate injuries.
Martin says at this stage the accident is still under investigation.
The accident comes just over a week after a head on collision above the Crown Range Zig Zag on 18 October in which an elderly American tourist was charged for allegedly crossing the centre line resulting in a head on collision.
“We just reinforce to people to drive to the conditions and concentrate on their driving,” Martin says.
Lamont from FENZ says the brigade was called out to Glenorchy Road again yesterday (29 October) after another call regarding an accident, however, they arrived and there was no one there.
“There seems to be some large potholes forming along Glenorchy Road, which may or may not have contributed, but our crews mentioned it when they returned today,” Lamont says.
Fatigue stop nets two drivers
Just two alleged drink drivers were caught during a Police and Alexandra Lions fatigue stop checkpoint at Tarras, prior to Labour Weekend on Friday, 24 October. One local male allegedly blew between 250 and 400mcg while an international driver allegedly blew around 550mcgs. Between 700 and 800 vehicles drove through the stop with free sausages available and Plunket on hand to check the safety of child car restraints, Martin says.
‘Silly antics’ – three vehicles single file on incorrect side of highway
Three young men – 20, 21 and 23, from Otago and Southland were dealt with by Police after another driver reported that they’d allegedly driven on the incorrect side of State Highway 6 for some distance in single file after exiting Shortcut Road, near Luggate, during the long weekend.
“They appear to have allegedly driven out around the traffic island on the incorrect side of the road, carrying on along the incorrect side of the road, heading uphill for some distance,” Martin says.
“It’s just silly antics. If another vehicle had come over the hill and been coming down approaching them, we could’ve had a completely different outcome,” he says.
That particular intersection had been redesigned after a multiple fatality crash there some years back, he says.
All three drivers, who had their vehicles impounded for 28 days, have been charged with dangerous driving and will appear in court.
Woman allegedly punched in face, robbed, over vape argument
A local woman in her 20s was allegedly punched in the face and robbed of her handbag in a Searle Lane alleyway at 2am on Sunday, 28 October, after a verbal argument over a vape became physical, Police say.
Constable Amanda Shute says a 31-year-old Invercargill man has been charged with robbery by assault and appeared in the Queenstown
District Court on Tuesday, 28 October. He’s been remanded on bail until 3 November.
Police were called to the alleyway between Searle Lane and the Mall after the incident occurred and neither the man nor the woman knew each other. Nothing had been taken from the handbag, Shute says.
Glass smashed in female face off
A local woman in her 30s allegedly had a glass smashed into her face by another woman at a Frankton pub after a heated argument broke out between the pair, Shute says. Police were called to the Pavillion Pub and Kitchen after the argument had become heated at 8.45pm on Sunday, 26 October, with one of the women allegedly splashing her drink over the other woman. That woman then allegedly retaliated by picking up a glass, emptying the contents over the victim’s face and then smashing the glass in the victim’s face, Shute says. The victim allegedly received lacerations to her face and sought medical attention at Lakes District Hospital. Shute says a 38-year-old local woman was arrested and charged with assault with a blunt instrument. She appeared in the Queenstown District Court on Tuesday (28 October) and was remanded on bail until 1 December. The women were known to each other.
Driving while impounded – impounded again
A 40-year-old local woman was charged with driving while her licence was suspended after being stopped by Police just before 8.30pm on Monday, 27 October, on Frankton Road allegedly driving her vehicle that had been impounded for 28 days. She will appear in the Queenstown District Court on 14 November, and her vehicle was again impounded for 28 days, Shute says.
