A Mount Maunganui man and his girlfriend are lucky to be alive after their car went off a gravel road and plummeted down an 18m bank. Gordon Campbell, 21, and his girlfriend were travelling along Reid Rd, Welcome Bay about 3.45pm. On a corner their car, a Mini Cooper, went off the road and down the steep bank. The pair were on their way to play golf at the Summerhill Golf Course. At the accident site, Mr Campbell's mother Michele Campbell said the car rolled about three or four times. She said the impact of the rolling motion forced the boot of the car to eject open. As a result, one of the golf clubs in the back had broken in two. Mrs Gordon was phoned by her son immediately after the accident. "He said mum I've been in an accident, he told me he was fine but the car was totalled. "That's a long way down, they're very lucky to be alive, it could have been a whole lot worse," she said. An ambulance spokesperson said the two occupants were very lucky not to have been seriously injured. He said the driver, Mr Campbell, complained of a sore shoulder but his passenger was uninjured. The pair were transported to Tauranga Hospital for observation. Two fire trucks, ambulance and police attended the scene. Mrs Campbell said she was grateful her son was driving a "sturdy" car. "The mini ... saved their lives. If it was any other car they'd be squashed."
Those KIWI's are wild and crazy them who invented bungee jumping. Are we sure that was an accident or the first attempt at inventing a new off road thrill and he told his mum it was an accident so she wouldn't worry.