A 24-year-old male driver escaped serious injury when his van veered off the road in Aroa and tumbled into a stream.

The incident took place early yesterday morning.

Cook Islands Police spokesperson Trevor Pitt said police received the report at 2.32am Sunday morning.

Pitt said the incident involved a grey van and no injuries were reported. 

The driver was taken to hospital for blood specimen and then returned home yesterday.

On Friday, Pitt, in a statement, said that as the January road incidents continue to tally up, police are expecting very little improvement for 2024 when it comes to driver behaviour around Rarotonga.

On Thursday, two minor incidents were reported, reinforcing a basic need for better judgement while on the road.

One driver collided with a parked car in the middle of town shortly before 1pm while a second crash was called in at 8.47pm when the female driver of a car veered into fencing near the airport.

“January is a consistently a poor month in terms of road incidents,” Pitt added.