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John Bisset / Stuff
Two people were killed and another seriously injured after a two-car collision in South Taranaki on Thursday. (file photo)
Two people were killed in a car accident in South Taranaki on Thursday morning.
The deaths, which are being investigated by the police’s Serious Accident Unit, raise the Taranaki road toll to 11 by 2020.
The collision occurred on State Highway 3, at the intersection with Oreilly Rd, south of the municipality of Pātea, around 10:30 am and was attended by police, firefighters and St John ambulance personnel.
A third person was flown by the Taranaki community rescue helicopter to Whanganui hospital with serious injuries, a St John spokesman said.
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Traffic stopped in both directions as emergency services worked at the scene, and the road reopened at around 2:20 p.m.
Catherine Groenestein / Things
State highway three south of Pātea is closed after a two-car collision on Thursday.
Roadsafe Taranaki coordinator Marion Webby described it as a tragic outcome.
“Obviously, there are family and friends who are going to be deeply upset about this,” Webby said.
“Change people’s lives forever.”
Webby said that while the highway toll was lower than the 16 who had died at this stage in 2019, it was still higher than they wanted to see.
He said there were also a series of horrendous crashes this year that resulted in people seriously injured.
“There are too many people injured or killed on our roads. We are looking at what we can do in the future to change people’s attitudes and behavior so that we can reduce the trauma on our roads.
“We just want people to get home or to their destination safely.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed that two people had died at the scene.
While investigations into the circumstances of the double fatality were ongoing, police would not speculate what may have caused the accident as it could jeopardize the investigation, he said.
Catherine Groenestein / Things
Traffic on State Highway Three near Pātea came to a halt on Thursday after a two-car collision south of the municipality.
The police were committed to reducing deaths and injuries on the country’s roads and worked closely with their road safety partners, including the New Zealand Transport Agency, local authorities and the Ministry of Transport; they needed everyone to do their part.
“Every road user has a role to play in keeping the roads safe; pay absolute attention to what they do when they drive, drive or cross the street. “
He said there were four main behaviors that contributed to deaths and injuries, including people driving too fast for conditions, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or fatigue, driving while distracted, including using a cell phone, and they were not properly contained.
“We urge you to drive according to conditions, wear your seat belt, do not drive while tired or after drinking or using drugs, and put away your cell phone.”
New Zealand Fire and Emergencies Central Region Communications shift manager Mike Wanoa said brigades from Pātea, Waverley and Whanganui attended the accident.
