Car crashes

A passenger in a car that rolled twice on the Southern Motorway yesterday morning suffered a serious arm injury, Senior Sergeant Craig Brown, of Dunedin, said.

Two teenage drivers suspected of drinking before driving caused problems for Oamaru police at the weekend, both crashing vehicles before being apprehended.

People injured in car accidents should be tested for the presence of alcohol in their blood before receiving treatment, Otago Southland Coroner David Crerar says.

One in five drivers has admitted to falling asleep at the wheel - and the problem is costing more than ever.

Had a Korean nurse living in Sydney worn the seatbelt provided, she may not have been killed, or even injured, when the tour bus in which she was travelling on the Te Anau-Milford Highway slid on black ice and overturned, throwing her out and crushing her, last year.

The driver of a truck-and-trailer unit carrying logs from Berwick Forest was lucky to escape without injury after a crash put his trailer off the road and sent the logs tumbling into a steep gully yesterday, police say.