Northland's drivers to blame for deadly crashes, police say

Monday, 24 June 2019

Senior Sergeant Ian Row, second in charge of Northland Road Policing, says locals are killing on Northland roads.

Local drivers are to blame for a spate of deaths on Northland roads, according to police who responded to two fatalities within 24 hours.

Northland drivers need to plan more time for the journeys and slow down a little bit in the wet, said Senior Sergeant Ian Row from Northland's road policing unit.

There were two fatal crashes south of Whangārei last week (file photo).

This comes after two fatalities last week in the area south of Whangārei, which was the highest-risk area for crashes, he said.

A 54-year-old woman died in a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 1 in Oakleigh, near the intersection of Springfield Road, around 6pm on Wednesday.

* [80kmh speed limit 'like sticking plaster on disaster' highway south of Whangārei

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/112326812/80kmh-speed-limit-like-sticking-plaster-on-disaster-highway-south-of-whangrei)* Northland motorists lament lack of State Highway 1 progress in 'forgotten north'

* [State Highway 1 closed after fatal crash south of Whangārei

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/113525303/state-highway-1-closed-after-serious-crash-south-of-whangarei)* One dead after single-vehicle crash on Otaika Valley Rd in Whangārei**

The woman has been named by police as Donna Hillary Blake, from Huntley.

Police have charged 40-year-old Hikurangi tattooist Randall Kevin Wilson with dangerous driving causing her death, stealing petrol worth $108 from the Caltex at Oakleigh and possessing a pipe for smoking cannabis.

All of the charges relate to 19 June. The man appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody until July 1.

In the second fatality, 18-year-old Jim Watson was the sole occupant of a car which crashed on Otaika Valley Rd, between Stunnell Rd and Mulberry Lane, in the early hours of Thursday.

Row said initial investigations into the crash showed there was a 'huge amount of speed'.

It would be up to the coroner to decide if Watson made a mistake or an intentional action which caused the crash, he said.

Despite the two crashes being a bit out of the ordinary, Row said Northland drivers still needed to heed warnings to plan enough time for journeys, be courteous and drive to the conditions.

'Just drop a couple of kilometres [in the wet]. It will make absolutely no difference to the length of your journey but it will make a difference to whether you go around a corner or not,' he said.

Row said the problem was local Northlanders, not visitors.

'Even at our busiest point, visitors make up a very small percentage of crashes on our roads.

'It's Northlanders crashing and killing Northlanders.'