ROADBLOCK
State Highway 1 through the Hundalee hills was blocked for almost five hours early yesterday after a fully laden furniture van in which the brakes had failed was driven into a bank and capsized to stop its headlong descent The incident occurred in heavy rain about two miles north of the Conway River bridge at 2.15 a.m. The driver of the van, Mr D. King, of 61 Longfellow Street, Christchurch, was not injured. Mr King, who was driving south, said he "just ran out of brakes” on the downhill slope and drove the van into the bank on his side of the road. He was travelling about 40 miles an hour. The 11-ton van, owned by Brambles Furniture Removals, capsized and blocked the road short of a left-hand bend. Mr King escaped from the cab through the shattered windscreen, soaked a pair of overalls in diesel, set them alight, and put them on the road to warn other traffic of the accident. A Ministry of Works grader from Kaikoura arrived soon after 6 a.m. and pushed the van about 20 yards to allow enough room for one-way traffic.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33279, 17 July 1973, Page 1
Word Count
189ROADBLOCK Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33279, 17 July 1973, Page 1
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