Road Blocked By Bulldozer: Driver Has Narrow Escape

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 44, 21 January 1949, Page 5

Road Blocked By Bulldozer: Driver Has Narrow Escape

When a bulldozer belonging to the Works Department toppled onto the road about halfway through the Waimana Gorge at 11.15 a.m. Tuesday, the driver had a very lucky escape from being killed or seriously injured. As it was, he manag?d to jump clear, coming out with only a few slight bruises. The machine was engaged in cutting away a corner on a ledge some way up the side of the gorge. The driver apparently misjudged his distance to the edge of the area on which he was working and took the bulldozer a bit too far.

It began to slip and the treads were unable to hold it back. It slid further and then toppled over the bank, landing very heavily upside down in the middle of the road below. When it slipped the driver made a hurried jump aside, which probably saved his life. It blocked the road entirely, resulting in a slight delay of the Road Services buses, which used Stanley Road as an alternative route until a track was cleared in the Gorge Tuesday afternoon.

The bulldozer remained on the roadway until it was shifted on Wednesday and carted away to be inspected. The main road was cleared and opened for traffic again by Wednesday afternoon. This accident, according to the Works Department, will not delay work in the Waimana Gorge. Yesterday, they reported that road repairs were proceeding as usual.