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Andy Jackson / Stuff
Waikato police attended two morning crashes Sunday, one fatal and the other critically injured (File photo).
One person was killed and another seriously injured in two separate morning crashes on the Waikato.
It is “heartbreaking” after what was shaping up to be a safer year on the roads than 2020, says a senior police officer.
The fatal accident occurred on Te Rapa Rd, Horotiu, near the dairy factory.
Police were called around 5:30 a.m. and said the driver died at the scene.
In Matamata, another morning crash left a person seriously injured.
It happened on Tower Rd, Matamata, around 4.45am, and the driver was airlifted to Waikato Hospital.
The Serious Accident Unit would examine the circumstances of both accidents.
“It’s heartbreaking in general when these incidents happen, particularly when there are a series of them,” said Inspector Jeff Penno, Waikato’s manager of highway patrol.
Waikato police are proud to see 2021 off to a relatively safe start on the roads, he said.
Through the weekend, the region had five deaths this year, down from 12 at the same point last year.
“It’s been a terrible weekend,” Penno said. “Our feelings go out to the families of those involved and also to the emergency services personnel responding to these horrendous incidents.”
Rudimentary examinations of the scene have been completed, but it was too early to give an indication of possible causes.
