Motorcyclist in fatal Christchurch crash died on his birthday
Monday, 12 November 2018
A motorcyclist killed in a crash near Christchurch over the weekend is understood to have died on his 48th birthday.
Kyle John McKitterick, of Christchurch, was involved in a crash on Dyers Pass Rd, near Governors Bay, about 2pm on Saturday. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition, but later died from his injuries.
The driver of the van McKitterick collided with said it was a dangerous road with 'no room for error'.
Duncan Harvest lives in Christchurch but was driving to his section on Dyers Pass Rd for the weekend.
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Harvest said he was coming down the hill, turning right into his driveway and saw two motorcyclists going up the hill towards Christchurch.
'I think they were accelerating pretty rapidly and I think I misjudged how fast they were probably going. After I started turning, I lost sight of them because I have to focus on the driveway … I committed to going up the driveway so I was looking up there … I couldn't look both ways so the motorcyclist clipped the back of my van.
'It's very narrow so that's what struck me – it is a dangerous road and people still treat it as a highway where they can go fast.'
Dylan McKenzie was riding in convoy with McKitterick and estimated the motorcycles were travelling between 50kmh to 60kmh at the time of the crash. The speed limit on the road is 60kmh after it was recently reduced from 100kmh.
McKitterick braked heavily, locking up the wheels of his motorcycle, McKenzie said.
'He's full on the stoppers and he's just clipped the last third of the van pretty much,' he said. There was an 'explosion of plastic and metal and glass everywhere'.
'[McKitterick] was very, very well known in the motorcycling community, and he had a lot of friends. He was definitely widely respected,' Dylan McKenzie said.
'My heart goes out to his friends and family.'
McKenzie – who suffered a broken neck, back and pelvis in a motorcycle crash in 2014 – had not met McKitterick before Saturday.
He was riding solo in the Gebbies Pass area when he met and joined McKitterick and another motorcyclist McKitterick was travelling with.
The convoy was heading towards the city along Dyers Pass Rd, about 500 metres past the intersection with Governors Bay Rd, when the crash happened. McKenzie was third in the convoy, about 10 to 20 metres behind McKitterick.
The first biker was further ahead and had already passed a driveway on the left side of the road. A van coming down the pass was indicating to turn into the driveway and turned in front of McKitterick, McKenzie said.
'It's like [the van driver] didn't even see him,' he said, adding the rest of the crash seemed to play out in slow motion. 'It was just so close. I don't think [McKitterick] could have avoided it actually.'
McKenzie said if McKitterick had not hit the van, it was possible he would have himself. He said he managed to avoid the debris and stop, then screamed at the van driver to call an ambulance.
He and other drivers who stopped at the scene did their best to assist McKitterick until first responders arrived.
'It hit home pretty hard. It's not going to put me off riding, but it was definitely a shock … coming to the realisation that this guy had actually died,' McKenzie said.
'It's a very, very sobering reminder just to be aware, and wear all your gear and try stay as safe as possible.'
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Worner asked for anyone who saw the crash or had further information to call police.
Dyers Pass Rd, which links Cashmere and Governors Bay, has been the scene of many crashes. Since 2008, 170 crashes have been reported there, resulting in 95 injuries and two deaths.
The previous speed limit was 100kmh between Summit Rd and Governors Bay Rd and 70kmh from just above Hackthorne Rd to Summit Rd.