Driver of fatal Auckland hit-and-run speaking with police
Saturday, 19 May 2018
A teenage cyclist was killed by a hit and run driver on a stretch of road labelled a blackspot.
The crash happened on Auckland's Northern Motorway's Oteha Valley Rd north-bound off-ramp shortly before 11pm Friday, a police spokesman said.
The 15-year-old cyclist died at the scene.
The driver of the vehicle came forward on Saturday, and was now helping with inquiries, said Inspector Sunny Patel.
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Senior Sergeant Ian Byrne said officers were conducting a scene examination to get as much information as possible.
However, a lack of visibility was a likely factor, Byrne said.
'Being a cyclist at this time of night, you need to be aware of where you are, and whether you can be seen or not.'
North Shore ward councillor Chris Darby said the big issue was that somebody crashed into a cyclist and left them for dead.
Darby has advocated for road safety investigations previously, and planned to do the same for this incident.
'These deaths are not a road 'toll', they are people. It's a human-being, not a statistic,' Darby said.
'All that opportunity of living is gone. We need to start viewing it [road safety] through this lens.'
Police had notified the dead teen's next of kin.
At least 11 crashes have been reported on Oteha Valley Rd since 2014. Just last month, North Shore woman Christine Ovens died after being struck by a car on that road.
Oteha Valley School - which is close to where the latest fatality happened - has been campaigning for seven years to improve the safety of Oteha Valley Rd before more deaths occurred.
'It's an accident waiting to happen. We don't want to have another fatality. We don't want another family losing someone they love,' principal Rose Neal said, earlier this month.
'It is devastating that it takes a fatality to get some more traction on an issue that we've really been trying hard to get traction on for quite some time,' Georgina Dew, a parent and board of trustees chairwoman, said.
Joanna Glasswell, Auckland Transport's senior media advisor for walking, cycling and road safety, said after the earlier fatality it was progressing plans to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists on Oteha Valley Rd.
Work would start in 2019 on a new two-lane road, including a new bridge, with footpaths and cycle facilities, linking Fairview Ave with Oteha Valley Rd, she said.
It was one of a number of fatals across New Zealand during overnight Friday and Saturday.
Another teenager died after a stolen vehicle carrying six people crashed in Wellington, after a police pursuit early Saturday morning.
The driver failed to stop for police on State Highway 1, near the Terrace Tunnel at 2.44am.
Wellington District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said the vehicle was reported stolen on Friday.
A pursuit was initiated, and the vehicle continued north on the motorway before crashing south of the Tawa interchange.
Hoyle said the crash followed a pursuit involving one officer in a single patrol car.
The other five occupants were taken to Wellington Hospital with moderate to minor injuries.
The teen's next of kin had been notified.
Hoyle said a number of investigations will now commence, including a Serious Crash Unit investigation, and an internal police investigation.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority was notified.
One person also died in a single car crash in the South Island town, Ashburton, at about 3am Saturday. The person died at the scene on Wakanui Rd and three others sustained serious to moderate injuries.
The Police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.