'Horrific holiday': Road toll grows to eight as Labour Weekend turns to carnage
Monday, 25 October 2021
Labour Weekend’s “horrific” road toll has grown to eight after a motorcyclist was killed when they collided with a truck on a bridge on State Highway 1 on Monday morning.
The person was critically injured after the crash on the Rakaia River Bridge in Selwyn, south of Christchurch, at about 9.45am, leaving the road closed for a number of hours.
They were airlifted to Christchurch Hospital but died later, a police spokesman said.
Two people also died on Saturday when two cars crashed on State Highway 1 near Dunedin.
Eight people have now died across the country over what the top road police officer described as a “horrific holiday weekend on the roads” as people looked to get away for the long break.
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Superintendent Steve Greally, director of national road policing, urged people to drive safely.
Investigations are under way into the fatal crashes, but early suggestions were that alcohol, speed, not wearing seatbelts, distractions and poor decisions were contributing factors, he said.
This year’s Labour Weekend road toll so far matches that of last year’s total, when eight people died. Just one person was killed on New Zealand’s roads over Labour Weekend in 2019, according to Ministry of Transport data.
As well as the motorcyclist who was killed, seven people were injured in two further incidents on Canterbury’s roads on Monday morning, one critically, as the last day of Labour Weekend turned to carnage.
On Monday, six people were injured in a two-car crash about 10.30am in Templeton, west of Christchurch.
Three suffered serious injuries, a St John spokeswoman said, while one had moderate injuries and two with minor. All were taken to Christchurch Hospital.
The crash happened at the intersection of Dawsons Rd and Jones Rd.
A Stuff journalist at the scene said it appeared one of the cars had mounted a kerb before ploughing into a power kiosk.
In a third incident, a pedestrian was left in a critical condition after being hit by a truck on State Highway 1 in Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch.
Heavy traffic built up in the area after the crash. Diversions were in place and motorists were urged to avoid the area. The road reopened in the afternoon.
Five other people have died since the road toll started on Friday at 4pm.
Shortly after, at about 4.30pm, a pedestrian was killed after being hit by a truck in Ōtāne, about 50km from Napier.
Police said the 38-year-old woman was struck by a truck and trailer heading south on State Highway 2.
In another crash on Friday, a motorcyclist died after a crash involving a car on State Highway 1 near Burnham, shortly before 10pm.
Mongols bikie gang associate Steve Smith was killed, and on Saturday his partner described him as “the most amazing dad” and “our rock” in a post online.
On Saturday evening, a third person was killed after falling from a moving vehicle in Auckland’s Kawakawa Bay.
Two people were initially reported as being injured, but police later confirmed one person died at the scene on Clevedon-Kawakawa Rd.
On Sunday morning, emergency services were alerted to a two-car crash near Wheki Valley, Whangārei.
The crash happened on State Highway 14 between Otuhi and Whatitiri roads at about 9.40am and police confirmed two people died, while three others suffered injuries, some critical.
The official holiday period ends at 6am on Tuesday.
Greally urged people to “plan ahead, watch your speed and following distances, pay attention to the conditions, stop and take a break if you’re feeling fatigued, and allow plenty of time for a safe trip home”.