Sunday September 13, 2004
NZ Herald

A woman was flown to hospital when the four-wheel-drive vehicle she was in rolled on a beach near Levin on Saturday. The accident follows a triple fatality on a West Auckland beach in July that prompted a call for mandatory off-road training and special licences for drivers of four-wheel-drives. In the latest accident, the Lower Hutt woman was flown to Palmerston North Hospital with possible spinal injuries when the vehicle she was a passenger in rolled about 1pm, a spokesman for the Square Trust Rescue Helicopter said. Levin police Sergeant Noel Bigwood said three other passengers - who were also not wearing seatbelts - were also treated at hospital for minor injuries and it was later found the woman was less seriously hurt than first feared. Mr Bigwood said the passengers were lucky to escape with scrapes and bruises. The driver has been charged with careless use of a vehicle causing injury. He was to appear in the Levin District Court today. Soon Sung Yim, his wife Myeoung Heui Kim, and Insoon Son died when a four-wheel-drive vehicle rolled at a west Auckland beach. The driver was allegedly speeding and the passengers were not wearing safety belts. At the time, road safety commentator Clive Matthew-Wilson called for special licences to drive four-wheel-drives. - NZPA

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