Motorcyclist killed on Tribute 29 Pike River memorial Run

Saturday, 17 November 2018

Sonya Rockhouse is heartbroken that someone died in the Tribute 29 Pike River Memorial Run.

A motorcyclist died while paying tribute to the men who died in the Pike River explosion.

It was a devastating blow for those involved in the aftermath of the mining tragedy.

Two people died and a third is fighting for their life after a motorcycle crash in Southland.

The rider was participating in the Tribute 29 Pike River Memorial Run, and was one of four motorcyclists to die on Kiwi roads on Saturday.

Another crash in Southland involved people participating in a charity event for an unborn child with a heart condition.

The accident is understood to have involved bikers taking part in a charity ride.

Pike River Minister Andrew Little said the rider that died supporting the Pike 29 'compounded the upset'.

* Person dead after motorbike crash in Henderson, West Auckland**

Emergency services attended the scene of the crash involving the Pike tribute rider on the West Coast's Lower Buller Gorge Rd shortly after 4pm Saturday. It was a single vehicle crash.

The crash happened on a remote country road about 40km from Invercargill.

Tribute 29 was an annual ride in the South Island to commemorate the 29 men who died in the Pike River Mine explosion on November 19, 2010. On Monday it will be eight years since it happened.

Sonya Rockhouse had two sons working in the mine on the fateful day - Ben - who died, and Daniel, one of the two survivors.

A police serious crash unit investigate the scene on Henderson Valley Rd where a motorcyclist died.

'I feel sick, it's absolutely terrible,' Rockhouse said on Saturday night.

'My heart goes out to the family. I feel incredibly sick about it.'

Henderson Valley Rd was closed while emergency services dealt with the scene.

Knowing that the person died while paying tribute to people she loved was gut wrenching.

'This is a huge blow for us, it's an even greater blow for their family. Their family is the one I'm thinking about at the moment. It's very sad for us to think about but how we feel is irrelevant.

'I just feel sick someone else has lost a loved one.'

Rockhouse was commenting on the riders' Facebook pages reminding them to be safe.

Pike River Minister Andrew Little said it was sad any time someone died on the road, regardless of circumstances.

'But the fact the rider was supporting the families of the Pike 29 compounds the upset. My thoughts are with the rider's family,' Little said.

Three other motorcyclists were killed in two other crashes.

Two people died, a third person was fighting for their life in hospital, and a fourth was in a serious condition in hospital, after three motorbikes crashed during a charity fundraising ride on a country road in Southland.

The ride, which involved motorbikes and classic cars, was organised by the Southern Brotherhood Motorcycle Club to help a local couple raise money for their unborn child with a heart condition.

A spokeswoman for Drummond Motorcycle Club, which was also taking part, told Stuff that a rider and their passenger had collided with an oncoming motorcyclist.

Two were airlifted by helicopter to hospitals in Dunedin and Southland, Otago Rescue Helicopter chief pilot Graeme Gale said.

The accident occurred at 12.45pm, Saturday, on Riverton Otautau Road, just south of the intersection with Fairfax Isla Bank Road, about 40km from Invercargill.

Hours later, a motorbike crash in Henderson, West Auckland, left a third rider dead at the scene.

Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman Colin Underdown said there were no other vehicles involved in the crash, which occurred on Henderson Valley Rd just after 3pm.