Bee's buzz causes bridge crash

JOEL FORD | 11th January 2008

A pesky bee is believed to have caused a 30-year-old Papamoa woman to drive her car into a lamppost near the Harbour Bridge. The woman, who is allergic to bees, became distressed when she noticed a bee buzzing around the interior of her car as she drove towards Tauranga along the Harbour Bridge causeway.

According to police, she lost control near the bridge marina about 1.30pm yesterday, swerved off the road and hit a lamp post.

The woman suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash but did not require hospital treatment. She was not stung by the bee.

The accident, however, backed up traffic along both Dive Crescent, the expressway and Cameron Rd for an hour as the scene was cleared.

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said such accidents were unusual.

He advised anyone who suffered allergies to bees or other insects to drive with their car windows up at all times.

He said windows of the woman's car were down at the time of the accident.

"It just makes sense to have them up, especially in the summer when there are lots of bees about," he said..