A man has been charged over a multi-vehicle crash on Auckland's Southern Motorway that left several people with horrific injuries on Saturday.
The crash occurred at 11.30am on April 21 and brought traffic to a standstill in all southbound lanes on the Southern Motorway between East Tamaki Road and Te Irirangi Drive.
Police said one person was critically injured in the incident while the driver of the stationary car, who remains in hospital in a stable but serious condition, had her pelvis broken in two places.
Another passenger in the parked car had her back broken in two places and suffered a broken leg following the incident.
NZ Herald reports a man is set to appear in Manukau District Court next week charged with refusing to provide a blood sample, with further charges pending.
Allan Nicholls has NZ Herald he was travelling on the motorway with his wife when they narrowly missed being sideswiped by a station wagon just before the Otahuhu off-ramp.
"I gave him a prolonged toot on the horn because he was driving dangerously," Mr Nicholls said.
He said the driver of the station wagon began driving erratically, weaving in and out of traffic.
"As we passed, my wife remarked that he looked totally out of it and I could see that he was smoking a cigarette and looking straight ahead, but it just didn't look at all right."
Mr Nicholls said was observing the driver in his rearview mirror when he saw him drive full-speed into a car parked on the emergency strip on the motorway.
"I saw him hit that other car going sideways from the impact and what was left of his car fly into the air and land on the middle of the motorway," he said.
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