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Lucky to survive A man was flown to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition after his car hit a power pole on Wilsons Road at Wakanui in the early hours of yesterday morning. Ashburton fire chief Alan Burgess said firefighters had to cut the man free after they found the vehicle lying driver’s side down beside a ditch. The power pole had snapped in half but the heavy power lines remained intact, hanging, but off the ground. Burgess said firefighters were expecting the worst, given the damage, but found the driver responsive, but trapped. By the time they freed him, the rescue helicopter had arrived; it had to land several hundred metres away at an intersection because of the power lines and the driver, a middle-aged man, was
assessed, treated and transported to Christchurch. Burgess said firefighters had arrived about 1am and saw the lines were free of the crash scene. “We assessed it was safe to work where we were working.” He said the driver had been talking to them during the rescue. “He was very lucky.” St John confirmed the man was in a serious condition after the accident, which was on a stretch of Wilsons Road between Wakanui School Road and Bonningtons Road. Police said the scene was clear by 3am. EA Networks operations manager Myles Connew said power was cut so emergency services could work in safety. Supply was cut to the wider area initially, then to only a smaller surrounding
area as a power crew replaced the pole. The crew, with two trucks and a digger, waited while emergency services worked then stepped in quickly to restore electrical systems to normal within a couple of hours. He said lines in the area were robust because of the heavy electrical load they carried and had been hanging between other poles while the damaged one was down. Power supply was normal by 6am yesterday. Firefighters had earlier in the night been celebrating the 25-year gold star presented to one of their own at a long service event. The Methven unit had been covering Ashburton while the event took place. They responded to a medical event at the Hinds Rugby Club about 10pm.
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