Car yard owner faces $19,000 repair bill after fourth crash in three months

Murray Chong

A tow truck driver uses a crane to remove the vehicle that slammed into a New Plymouth car yard on Friday night.

The owner of a Taranaki car yard is facing a $19,000 repair bill after a driver ploughed on to his lot and smashed up three cars.

The silver Nissan Skyline careered across a concrete traffic island, took out a Give Way sign, mounted the footpath, cut deep gouges through a grass verge and then slammed into wooden bollards surrounding New Plymouth's Amber and Black Quality Cars.

The bollards did little to stop the vehicle and the force of the impact wrote off one car, seriously damaged two others, and has left owner Darryl MacDonald facing a hefty bill.

GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF

Darryl MacDonald, owner of Amber and Black Quality Cars, is considering his options after a car crashed into his yard on Friday night and smashed up three cars.

MacDonald said said he had only been in business for about three months and it was the fourth crash near his property, at the intersection of Northgate and Watson St.

The crash happened about 11.30pm on Friday. The driver of the Nissan, which was heading into the city, initially fled the scene but returned a short time later and was arrested by police and taken to the station to be breath tested.

Police said the area is a well known hot spot for speedsters and MacDonald is considering his options to prevent further damage to cars on his lot.

He didn't attend the scene on Friday but had his suspicions about what had happened.

"The guy was obviously speeding, lost control and smashed through the bollards and into the cars.

"I was just shocked because that's the fourth time since I've been here."

He said action was needed to improve safety at the intersection before something more serious happened.

"The biggest thing is one day somebody is going to get killed out there.

"If someone was walking along that footpath at the time they would be toast."

MacDonald said he would be meeting with representatives from the police, New Plymouth District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency to try and find a solution but he already had his own ideas about what needed to be done.

"They've got to do something about it and the simplest thing would be a metal crash barrier.

"It would be the worst spot in New Plymouth with four crashes in that space of time."

Councillor Murray Chong, who lives opposite the car yard, said he heard the crash and thought "oh no not another one".

Chong said drivers often sped through the area late at night and believed it was a factor in Friday's smash.

"To lose it at that corner you have to be doing at least one hundred kilometres an hour.

"They (police) know that there is a speeding problem so why can't we just have a camera mounted on one of those poles?"

Chong said he'd be helping MacDonald put together a deputation to go to the council's police liaison committee.

Acting Sergeant Craig O'Doherty said inquiries into the crash were ongoing.

"It has always been a bit of a well known area for people to speed through," O'Doherty said.

He confirmed two males were seen running away from the scene but the driver had returned a short time later and was arrested.