A truck driver is in critical condition after being impaled by a flying canoe that smashed through his windscreen, trapping him in his truck.



The crash happened on State Highway 1, near Levin this afternoon.



Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter pilot Fergus MacLachlan said the truck - a fully loaded car transporter - had been following another vehicle carrying a number of canoes when one came loose.



"It flew up in the air, through the windscreen and impaled him to the seat. He was trapped in the cab."



Mr MacLachlan said the driver then drove off the road "luckily to the left and not the right" and across some railway tracks, which were blocked while the scene was cleared.



"He was lucky again there that there wasn't a train coming."



"It was a nasty accident."



Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade crew had to cut the 64-year-old Waikanae man free from his truck before he was flown to Palmerston North Hospital.

A hospital spokesman said the man was "seriously ill".