Picton crash that killed seven family members one of the deadliest

Sunday, 19 June 2022

Seven people died as a result of the crash near Picton on Sunday.

A head-on crash that killed seven people is the deadliest in the South Island in more than two decades.

Nine people were travelling in a van when it crossed the road’s centreline, colliding with a truck, police said.

Seven people, including a baby, died “in a blink of an eye”, police said. Two people from the van suffered critical and serious injuries, while the truck driver had minor injuries.

Crashes with such a high number of fatalities are unusual – but not unheard of.

Tasman District commander Paul Borrell and Marlborough area commander Simon Feltham speak about the crash that killed seven people when a van and truck collided head-on.

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Seven people died in a two-vehicle crash near Waverley, Taranaki in June 2018.

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A crash that killed five teens in Timaru in August 2021 had been the South Island’s deadliest in two decades – until Sunday's fatal collision.

In one of the worst crashes in the past two decades, nine people died when a tourist minibus collided with a large truck in Waikato in May 2005. The crash happened in wet conditions on a sweeping bend of SH27 near Morrinsville.

In April 2019, five children and their parents died in a collision between the van they were in and an SUV, on SH1 at Atiamuri, north of Taupō. The driver of the SUV also died, taking the death toll to eight.

Seven people – four from one car, and three from another - died in a head-on collision on SH3 near Waverley in south Taranaki in June 2018.

While in April 2019, three young sisters were among five people who died when the car they were in crashed into a tree, also near Atiamuri.

Waka Kotahi’s Road to Zero strategy aims to reduce road deaths by 40% by 2030, with a long term goal of no deaths on New Zealand roads.

After Sunday’s crash, Picton chief fire officer Wayne Wytenburg described the scene as “absolutely horrific”, with his team having to remove people from both vehicles.

“We keep harping on about the Road to Zero road toll campaign, and well, we've got to take it seriously.”

A total of 184 people have died on New Zealand roads this year.