Three dead in two serious head-on crashes on holiday highways in Waikato, Taupō

Monday, 23 December 2019

Three people are dead following two serious crashes on holiday highways on the eve of Christmas.

One person died following a two-car crash on a popular holiday highway in Kopu, near Thames, on Monday morning, while two people were killed following a two-car collision on State Highway 5 near Taupō around 1.25pm.

A volunteer firefighter who was first on the scene of the Thames crash said it was a sad start to the holidays.

'[It's] someone whose presents are probably still going to be under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day, and that person's not there,' Shane Bromley, Thames Volunteer Brigade Deputy Chief Fire Officer, said.

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He urged motorists to be careful and patient on the roads.

'So they can unwrap their presents and we don't have to unwrap them from a car.'

Do you know more about these crashes? Email Stuff here.

Police were alerted to the first crash on Kopu-Hikuai Rd shortly after 9am on Monday.

One person died, while four people in the other car sustained minor injuries.

The road was cordoned off while emergency services dealt with the scene, but reopened about 1.30pm, causing significant delays.

Bromley said firefighters performed first aid on the victim, still in the vehicle, when they arrived at the scene. However, they were soon declared dead.

He said four others walked from another vehicle, virtually unscathed.

One of the cars was still smoking, so firefighters remained at the scene to ensure it didn't ignite.

A resident who has lived along State Highway 25a for 30 years, close to the crash site, said it was a road that needed to be reduced to 80kmh.

Just a few days ago, they placed a 'Stay Alive on 25' sign at the fence aligning their property.

Since then, there have been two bad crashes on the same stretch of road.

SH25 and 25a is made up of 270km of winding roads with around 983 curves.

The resident said at this time of year, locals prepare for the worst, and the road became all the more deadly when tourists and travellers were rushing towards their destinations.

They weren't at home when the crash occurred, but were eventually able to get through the cordon at the temporary roundabout in Kopu, which was in place for close to five hours.

'I just feel for the people they have left behind. It's a horrible thing to have happened.'

Waikato acting road policing Acting Inspector Rupert Friend also urged patience while travelling during the festive season as the region's roads saw far more crashes as its popular beaches - on the Coromandel and Raglan - swell over summer.

'In what should be a special week, it's extremely tragic that we have an incident like this so close to Christmas,' he said.

'It makes it really hard on the families involved. Unfortunately we hear this all too often. But every time there is a family being ripped apart by something like this.'

Meanwhile, the crash which killed two near Taupō also seriously injured a third person.

Witnesses to the crash rushed to the nearby Rangitaiki Tavern to call for help given the lack of cellphone service in the area.

Truck drivers also used their radios to sound the alarm, said a person at the tavern, who declined to give their name.

They could see the crash scene from the tavern and said a car heading towards Taupō and a ute heading south had collided head-on.

Three fire engines, two ambulances, a helicopter and multiple police cars attended.

One lane of SH5 reopened around 4.45pm but police warned of significant delays and advised road users to put off travel until the road fully reopened.

Over the holidays, drivers were more likely to crash between noon and 6pm, Waikato police road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno told Stuff ahead of the Christmas holidays.

'It's a real spike for us after that midday. Your traffic volumes are the highest they're going to be, people are the wariest they're going to be.

'That's really around fatigue. People are driving, it's hot, they've finally started to wind down after a really busy year.

'When you're stressing about time, you've got your family in the car, you're rushing, Christmas is a stressful time for so many reasons. Just imagine the stress of losing a family member over Christmas.'

By Thursday, Bay of Plenty roads had seen 71 deaths, 22 more than the same time last year, according to police figures. Meanwhile, 36 people had lost their lives on Waikato roads, seven less than last year. Monday's death takes that to 37.

Every death on the roads was a tragedy, Penno said.

'It is heartbreaking to see the trauma, when you see that a lot of it doesn't need to happen.'

Drivers needed to focus on driving 'appropriate' speeds, not reaching the speed limit, especially on complicated or unfamiliar roads.

'You cannot drive over Coromandel Peninsula at 100kmh. And nor should you try … Our infrastructure isn't that of a big city, the roads are windy, especially on the Coromandel Peninsula.

'The volume of traffic we put on our infrastructure at this time of year, it simply isn't made for it.'