Local driver charged after SH6 Lake Hayes crash

A man is facing two charges of careless driving causing injury after a crash that closed State Highway 6 near Lakes Hayes on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old is due to appear in the Queenstown District Court next Monday.

Area road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Watt says it appears the man crossed the centre line and collided head on with a vehicle travelling towards him after becoming distracted.

He was driving a people mover, and he crashed into a ute.

"Both drivers initially went to Lakes District Hospital for medical attention," Senior Sergeant Watt says.

"The passenger was flown to Dunedin and underwent surgery over there. Subsequently one driver was transported through to Dunedin for surgery, while the other driver was transported through to Invercargill for surgery."

All three people were local residents en route to work at the time of the crash.

Senior Sergeant Watt says, while Central Otago does have specialist crash investigation staff, on Tuesday members of the serious crash unit had to travel from Invercargill to examine the scene.

The road was closed for approximately eight hours to allow for this.

"Ultimately these are people's lives that we're dealing with there. We've got to make sure we can get the best outcome for those victims involved in crashes.

"What that means is we've got to meticulously go over that scene, make sure that we've got our 'Ts' crossed and our 'Is' dotted and have obtained everything that we can from the scene.

"We fully appreciate that creates a big time delay in which the road is closed but it is necessary."

The crash happened near Bendemeer Lane and was reported to police at approximately 7.20am.