Five dead after four fatal crashes in 48 hours
Monday, 24 February 2020
An 8-month-old baby remains in a serious but stable condition after a horror weekend on Waikato roads.
Four fatal crashes in 48 hours claimed five lives.
Sergeant Steve Jones of the Waikato Serious Crash Unit attended all of the fatal and serious crashes in the weekend, which he said took an enormous toll on emergency services and had a ripple affect across the greater community.
The first fatal crash happened on Saturday about 10.30am and claimed the life of a 22-year-old woman after two cars collided on Morrinsville-Tahuna Rd, north of Morrinsville.
READ MORE:
* Baby survives crash that killed his parents
* Baby survives two-vehicle fatal crash as four die on Waikato roads
* NZTA warns of 'summer ice' on roads
Jones said the woman lost control on the wet road and went passenger side into a southbound Ford Ranger.
She was killed at the scene, while a passenger in the Ford Ranger was seriously injured, with three others in a moderate condition.
Jones said he had just pulled back into his driveway when he received the next call.
A double fatal had occurred on Cambridge Rd.
He said a man and woman were travelling south on Cambridge Rd when the driver lost control on a corner and went into a clockwise rotation with an Isuzu light truck consequently T-boning the passenger side of the vehicle.
The man and woman died at the scene while an 8-month-old baby was taken to Waikato Hospital.
A Waikato Hospital spokeswoman said the baby remained serious, but stable on Monday.
Bystanders to the crash described the 'horrible' and 'sad' scene where a baby sat crying in a car seat while his parents lay dead.
The driver of the truck received moderate injuries and was taken to hospital.
Around the same time as the Cambridge crash another fatal crash occurred on State Highway 25 near Pipiroa.
A Hyundai Sedan travelling southbound left the road on a moderate bend and struck a concrete power pole with a large transformer.
The sole occupant of the car, a 43-year-old man, died at the scene.
He had been in the country for a wedding and was a Kiwi expat who had lived in Australia for 10 years.
The last fatal crash in Waikato happened on Sunday when one person was killed in one of two separate crashes near Piopio about midday.
Jones said a southbound Mazda tried to overtake a vehicle that was turning down a side road on Mangakowhai Rd, near Piopio.
The Mazda struck a northbound vehicle head on, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air.
The 69-year-old driver of the Chevy died at the scene and his 67-year-old partner was transported to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries.
The sole occupant of the Mazda was taken to Te Kuiti Hospital with minor injuries.
Police are investigating the crash.
Prior to this weekend, there had been five deaths on Waikato roads.
That number has now doubled.
Jones said out of those 10 deaths, three had been drivers not wearing seatbelts.
'People need to slow down in the rain, drive to the conditions and be aware roads are slippery after long dry periods.
'Always wear their seatbelt and always make sure they have safe and appropriate tyres on their vehicles.
'People think they are a lot safer than they are.
'Put the phone down and concentrate on driving, the text can wait.'
Waikato Acting District Commander Inspector Andrew Mortimore said police were disappointed with the fatalities that occurred not only in Waikato, but in the whole country in the weekend.
There had been a 20 per cent increase in vehicle crashes in Waikato alone last week and he said the change in the weather was a contributing factor in the crashes.
The traumatic scenes their staff and other emergency services staff saw at motor vehicle accidents could have a long and lasting impact on them and they were offered support.