'Enough is enough': Hastings mayor demands answers on Napier–Taupō road crashes

Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Eight people have died on the Napier-Taupō road in the past 12 months.

Doing nothing is no longer an option after the deaths of eight people on State Highway 5 in the past 12 months, the Hastings mayor says.

Sandra Hazlehurst said the fatalities all occurred at notoriously dangerous spots on the Napier-Taupō road, including Rangitaiki, Te Hāroto and Te Pōhue - the last two in the Hastings District.

Since 2014, there’s been more than 250 crashes reported between Eskdale and Tarawera, ranging from fatalities to non-injury.

Ten-year-old Teang Atauea died following a crash on the Napier-Taupō road on Sunday, June 21.

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Toys left at a fatal crash scene on the Napier Taupo Rd

* Hawke's Bay's twisted road: Seven people dead in six months on the Napier Taupō Road

Teang Atauea, of Wairoa, aged 10, died in Hawke's Bay Hospital on June 23.

Her father, Biiri Tokamwemwe, said the family was suffering '’extreme hardship’' after the loss of his daughter.

His family was flying to Auckland on Wednesday to visit their other daughter who was recovering in Starship Hospital following the single-vehicle crash on June 21.

Bruce Sanders with his daughter Maja, who died in a car crash on the Napier-Taupo Rd on May 16.

The family had driven SH5 about three times and Tokamwemwe said it was a road that required high levels of concentration.

They had just purchased the car in which they crashed in Auckland, and were driving it back to Wairoa.

Tokamwemwe said he was sleeping in the back of the car when they crashed. He doesn’t remember much, other than the road being “slippery”.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said commuters and truck drivers have had enough when it comes to the condition of the Napier Taupo Rd.

Tokamwemwe described his daughter as a 'lovely and kind young lady'.

The Napier Taupō Rd has seen eight deaths in the past year.

'She always wanted to learn new things. Whenever there was a knock at the door she was always there to welcome them. I always knew Teang would be a brilliant young lady as she was always talking too much and asking too much.'

Joshua Van Hooijdonk, 19, and Maja Sanders, 20, were killed in a car accident on the Napier Taupō Rd on May 16.

Maja’s father Bruce Sanders agreed that more work needed to be done to improve the road, mainly between Te Hāroto and Te Pōhue.

“If State Highway 5 was considered a work place, WorkSafe would have shut it down by now,” he said.

“There’s never enough resurfacing on along that road, between Te Hāroto and Te Pōhue, it’s just a nasty little piece of road.”

Hazlehurst said “enough is enough” and the community was “fed up” that no action was being taken to improve the safety of the road.

“I am getting multiple calls a day from concerned residents and community members who are extremely frustrated and scared - they don’t know what else to do other than call the mayor.”

Hazlehurst said she had spoken to both local and national NZTA representatives, but was yet to see any action.

Business owner Dan Gale, who lives and works on SH5, said he was appalled at the condition of the road.

“The road is at its worse from Eskdale to the summit. In parts the entire north-bound lane’s surface is breaking up – it is riddled with pot holes. A lot of the damage is on corners with no signs warning of the damage to the road, so I'm not surprised people are being caught out.”

It’s understood that a programme business case for the route was included in the last Hawke’s Bay Regional Land Transport Plan to commence in 2020-21, but was not included for funding in the National Land Transport Programme.

National’s candidate for Napier, Katie Nimon, was making calls to end the road’s problem with cellphone “blackspots”.

“The blackspots on the corridor’s most dangerous parts, between Te Pohue and Rangitaiki, means there are delays in response to unplanned events, which creates a life-threatening risk.

“The safety of this road needs to be improved, and it is clear that the impact of upgrading coverage will make an immediate difference. It just needs to be done.”

NZTA systems manager Oliver Postings said it had invested heavily on the region’s State Highway networks including $20 million for other safety improvements, which included work on SH5 such as centre and side line rumble strips and additional guard rails.

“Over the winter we have crews out fixing pot holes and any other pavement defects. This is part of our standard maintenance regime.”