A 34-year-old Taiwanese tourist, who ploughed head on into a Queenstown family in the Kawarau Gorge just before midday on Sunday November 15, seriously injuring a Queenstown woman, was driving for the first time on New Zealand’s open roads, police said.

Otago Lakes Road Policing Sergeant Bruce Martin said while investigations are continuing, speed was not a factor in the crash, which appeared to have been caused by driver inattention.

The visiting driver was charged with careless driving causing injury and ordered to pay $8,400 reparation, including $2,000 for emotional harm, and disqualified from driving for six months when he appeared in the Queenstown District Court on Monday, November 17, Bruce said.

The Toyota Prado he was driving, with three passengers on board, crossed the centreline on a corner with a 55km/hr speed advisory and hit the family’s Ford Ranger ute, which was towing a trailer, head on, he said.

“The local man driving the Ranger, which was heading towards Cromwell from Queenstown, took evasive action but had nowhere to go and crashed into a steep, rocky bank,” Bruce said.

The injured woman was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital by the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter with serious injuries, including multiple fractures, where she underwent surgery and is expected to take a number of months to recover.

Another patient was taken to Lakes District Hospital by road with moderate injuries.

A St John Ambulance spokesperson said a patient was treated for serious injuries before being airlifted to Dunedin, and a further six patients were assessed at the scene, all of whom suffered minor injuries.

One ambulance, an operations manager and the rescue helicopter responded.

PHOTO: Supplied