Taupō crash: Church group among the victims of horror smash

Tuesday, 10 October 2017

Pesi Tuivai, of Palmerston North, is one of four people dead after a crash near Taupo.

A 44-year-old woman who died in a head-on collision in Taupō was travelling with her family after a church conference.

Four people died and eight were injured in the head-on crash 1 kilometre south of the intersection of State Highway 1 and Tutukau Rd, Oruanui, about 3.15pm on Tuesday.

Emergency services at the scene of a serious crash in Taupō.

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Pesi Tuivai died at the scene. Three people in the other car, including a 5-year-old boy, died when the collision happened, bringing this year's shocking road toll to 297.

Mayor of Taupō David Trewavas joins us to talk about a deadly car crash which happened at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Tutukau Rd, killing four people and injuring eight people including a baby.

Tuivai was a passenger in a people-mover along with seven others, including her daughter.

Four rescue helicopters were sent to the crash.

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They were members of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga returning to Palmerston North after a weekend-long church event in Auckland.

Tuivai was not at the event, but she and her daughter had joined the group in Hamilton to travel back home to Palmerston North.

David Taufui, a relative of the family, said his family was struggling after the crash.

The Waikato Westpac rescue helicopter airlifted a 10-month-old baby to Waikato Hospital.

His brother-in-law, sister and mother were in Rotorua Hospital with two other relatives, while another two had been taken to Waikato Hospital.

Taufui said his mother broke her ankle in the crash, his brother-in-law had broken legs and his sister had a broken arm.

The Tauranga-based Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was sent to the scene along with the Hamilton-based Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter, the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter and the Taupo-based Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.

He had driven down from Hamilton to be with them.

A relative, who did not want to be named, said the family was in shock.

The Trustpower TECT rescue helicopter airlifted a 17-year-old female from Palmerston North who had suffered multiple injuries to Rotorua Hospital.

She described Tuivai as a 'loving, humble, funny lady we loved'.

A 42-year-old man and 32-year-old woman were also flown to Waikato Hospital by rescue helicopters.

The accident involved two vehicles, with multiple patients requiring medical attention. NZ Police, NZ Fire and St John were all in attendance.

A Waikato hospital spokesperson said on Wednesday morning the man was critical in the hospital's ICU while the woman was stable in a ward.

A 17-year-old girl who was also a passenger in the people mover was flown to Rotorua Hospital with critical injuries.

The other patients were transported to hospital by road ambulance.

They included two other young girls, believed to be aged two and three-years-old, who suffered minor injuries.

Senior Sergeant Nicky Cooney said the crash was an 'absolute tragedy'.

'The police will work tirelessly to investigate the cause of the crash. It's clear they have impacted head-on.'

Peter Wilkinson from nearby business Taupō Quad Adventures said a member of the public operated the detour for police earlier in the day.

'He has told me the crash involved two vans,' Wilkinson said.

Taupō mayor David Trewavas had been co-ordinating with police.

'Four deceased pretty quickly and eight are still being carried away as we speak,' Trewavas said at 6.30pm on Tuesday.

'It's real unfortunate, it's a combination of the school holidays and busy traffic, a real tragedy has unfolded here – I don't know how it happened.'

The crash follows a lethal weekend of car accidents, leaving nine people dead and another 10 seriously injured between Friday and early Monday.

'After the weekend, people, please take your time. Taupō is always going to be here, even if you arrive five minutes late.

'I don't know the circumstances around this one but connectivity is important to Taupō, everyone comes through Taupō, so please, everyone, keep an eye out and take care.'

Trewavas said the area had some horrific incidents in the past.

'We've seen multiple fatalities like this before, not in this exact spot but within the vicinity.

'It's a mixture of tourist traffic, domestic tourism traffic and local traffic – it is a very busy highway.

'The district feels for the families involved and the emergency services, those first on the scene and the people that have helped – my heart goes out to them all to be exposed to this sort of grief.'

SH1 was closed following the two-car crash. The cordon was lifted at 9.15pm on Tuesday and the road is now open.

The crash blocked both lanes and motorists were asked to use either SH5 or SH30 to avoid the scene.

Police set up a diversion for people travelling north, at Tirohanga Rd and SH1.

Another diversion was in place at Oruanui Rd and SH1 for people travelling south.

These were in place for hours while police conducted the scene examination.