By Janika Ter Ellen
Thousands of commuters were late for work in Wellington today when an accident closed State Highway 1 for eight hours.
It happened when a driver lost control of his truck and it rolled onto its side. The driver suffered minor injuries.
The cause of all the disruption was a New Zealand Post truck after it lost control on a mild bend just north of Porirua at 5:45am.
It wasn't until 1:45pm in the afternoon that the southbound lanes were reopened.
Apart from its cargo of packages, the truck was also carrying highly flammable propylene liquid, used in paint products.
“The main issue causing problems is the hazardous material being carried by the truck,” says inspector John Spence, of the Kapiti-Mana Police.
The south and northbound lanes were closed while over 20 firefighters worked to safely remove debris.
Police are interviewing the truck driver to find out how the crash occurred.
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