Story Eight: Hanging Off A Cliff

18-year old Peter Hanne lived very near the Waioeka Gorge, and one night in 2008, he had been home when there was an urgent knock on his front door. Considering it was already quite close to midnight, it was quite a surprise. A very concerned citizen had seen that a truck had veered off course, and the top portion was now hanging off the edge of the cliff. In a blink of an eye, Peter rushed out of the house and straight to scene, telling someone at home to call the cops. He wanted to see what he could do help the driver who was now stuck inside the main compartment of the huge 23-ton trailer truck, dangling in what seemed to be his possible death.

Climbing Down The Mountainside

Considering the weight of the truck and the fact that Peter began to hear a bit of cracking off the cliff’s end, he did the first thing he thought of and climbed over the side of the cliff in order to get to the driver. He explains, “I knew the normal thing to do was call the fire brigade and wait, but I heard it creaking and I knew we needed to get him out pretty quick.” So that’s exactly what he did. Once he was by the front cab portion, he broke open the rear window and managed to get the driver out and up to safety.