Thanks to the efforts of fellow truck drivers who stopped to help, a 50-year-old Auckland man was rescued from a partially submerged truck in the Rangitikei River on Tuesday morning.
The truck that was carrying a load of potato chips left the road about one kilometre north of Mangaweka and flipped over, leaving the wheels upright in the fast flowing river according to the Manawatu Standard.
Police say the injured driver was partially submerged before rescuers freed him from the cab, but he was able to walk up to the arriving emergency services despite being wet and cold.
Due to the low cloud at the scene, he was driven a short distance by ambulance and assisted by Mangaweka Firefighters to a waiting helicopter and flown to Palmerston North Hospital.
Police say his condition is stable, and they will be investigating the crash.
