Body bag flies out the back of hearse and careers across road in front of horrified motorists

Horrified motorists witnessed a body bag roll out the back of a hearse and across a busy road junction, believing a dead body was inside.



Undertakers responsible for the morbid mishap insist there was no corpse on the gurney but that didn't stop witnesses fearing the worst.



The motorist who filmed the dashcam footage said he assumed a piece of timber or a heavy item had fallen from the car when he heard a bang – and did not expect to see what looked like a body.



The man, who did not wish to be named, said: "I was a bit shocked really.



"I heard this noise, and the next thing you know I see the stretcher with the body on it flying through the intersection."



An employee at a nearby petrol station was behind the till serving a customer and said he looked outside to see the driver loading the gurney and body bag back into the hearse.



He too believed there was a body inside, describing the scene as "crazy".



In the dramatic clip, a large black hearse can be seen with its boot flying open as it rounds a corner at the intersection of Sandringham Road and Balmoral Road at about 12.45pm on Wednesday.



Following closely behind is what appears to be a body wrapped in a black body bag on a gurney, which rolls through the junction at speed before coming to a halt at the side of the road.



The hearse with its boot still open, pulls up in front of the gurney and the driver runs out with his phone pressed to his ear.



The driver then picks up the body bag and puts it back in the hearse, helped by a passing motorcyclist.



Robert Russell, branch manager at Davis Funerals in Auckland, said: "The driver is receiving counselling and can have clinical supervision if required.



"He is very, very upset – as management and all our staff are – as we pride this company very highly."



Mr Russell said the driver had gone to pick up a body from a house but was turned away by police because he had no ID.



He said the wrong hearse had been taken to the job because it had no equipment inside it to restrain stretchers but could not explain why the car boot had opened at the junction.



He added: "We can confirm there was no deceased person on the stretcher. That can be substantiated by the local police.



"We are devastated at the fact of this happening, because it is frightening for people.



"But we are immediately reviewing procedures and training to make sure this can never, ever happen again."