A driver of a pick up truck and his passenger were injured on Saturday as a result of a car crash at Vaitele.

A vehicle smashed into a parked truck and it nearly hit shocked taro farmers selling their produce in front of a shop.

The crash happened at around 6pm in front of a Chinese-run shop in Vaitele, where taro farmers had laid out their produce to sell, unaware of the oncoming pick up truck.

The driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle.

A taro vendor from Afega, who witnessed the crash, Setu Savea, told Samoa Observer the pick up truck was allegedly speeding from the western side.

He said the impact of the collision forced the parked truck to run over some of the produce displayed in front of the shop, to the disappointment of the already shocked farmers. 

“I saw that it (truck) wasn’t driving properly, maybe because of alcohol or maybe because it was too fast and it ended up in this situation,” Mr. Savea said.

He added that more damage could have been done, if it wasn’t for a metal pole in front of the shop, that absorbed the impact of the collision and stopped the moving open-back truck in its path.

The open-back truck had a dent in its back after it was hit, with its owner who emerged on the scene by that time, looking unhappy.

A vendor, whose taro and other crops were damaged by accident, did not want to be identified when he was interviewed by Samoa Observer.

But still shaken by the ordeal, he said he was counting his lucky stars for moving away before the collision occurred. 

“We were just very lucky to move away from the area as quick as we could or else,” he said.

It is understood the injured driver and his passenger were picked up by relatives and rushed to the hospital.