Beyond words is how a Waikato road policing officer describes a drunk driver's behaviour as she sped through a rural crash scene putting emergency workers at risk.
Sergeant Neil Mansill of the Huntly Road Safety Team said he struggles to comprehend how any road user could fail to see they were approaching a crash site with the way scene was set up.
"Emergency services had been called to the crash on Tahuna Rd near Ohinewai about 4.15pm on Monday.
"There was two Police cars at either end of the scene with flashing red and blue lights, a member of the public's car on the side of the road with flashing hazard lights and a tow-truck with flashing orange lights all attending a two car collision."
Mr Mansill said the driver of one of the cars had just been transported to hospital by ambulance when a car came speeding through the crash scene sending everyone leaping for safety.
"One of our patrol cars headed off to stop the vehicle and recorded it travelling at 113km/h. Never mind that the legal speed limit for driving through a crash scene is 20km/h, the speed the driver was doing on the open road was too high.
"When stopped four kilometres down the road, the 51-year-old female driver returned a breath alcohol limit of 1131mcg, the legal limit for a fully licensed driver is 400mcg. The woman was processed for third or subsequent excess breath alcohol, driving with an expired licence and speeding. Her car was also impounded for 28 days."
Mr Mansill said the driver will appear in the Huntly District Court on 02 December but in the interim Police want people to think about the risks on our roads.
"Monday's incident highlights the risks posed to those first responders putting their lives on the line trying to save others.
"It is not acceptable in this age of such public awareness that people speed, regardless of the situation a speed limit is just that, a limit not a target and people caught infringing either by speeding or drink driving can expect to be held to account for their behaviour."
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