Rescue personnel at the scene of a fatal crash on State
Highway 88, about 400m northeast of the Forsyth Barr
Stadium in Dunedin, yesterday.Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
Police have named the teenager who died yesterday after
his car collided head-on with a truck near Forsyth Barr
Stadium, in Dunedin.
He was Liam Christopher Stevenson (16).
State Highway 88 was closed for more than five hours after
the teenager's late-model saloon and the container truck
collided about 3.55pm.
Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said police believed the teen's
car crossed the centre line into the path of the oncoming
truck, killing him instantly.
The truck driver suffered minor injuries.
The truck, heading towards Dunedin, was carrying an empty
container and was shunted down a bank by the impact.
"It looked like the car had slipped over the centre line,
when he hit the truck. There was a massive collision right
away and the truck went down the bank," witness Jodie
Gilmore, of Aramoana, said.
The truck involved in the crash lies in a ditch. Photo by
Stephen Jaquiery.
"We ran over to help, but there was nothing we could do.
He was obviously dead," she said.
"The truck driver had a few bumps and bruises, but was OK.
It's unbelievable. I'm still in shock."
The crash was attended by three units from the Ravensbourne
and Dunedin Central fire stations.
Hundreds of motorists were affected by the closure of the
road between Dunedin and Port Chalmers. A detour was
available via Upper Junction and North Rds.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, of Dunedin, said last night the
road was reopened by 9.30pm.
Serious crash unit investigators remained at the scene, he
said.
Police were unable to release the dead teenager's name,
because he had yet to be formally identified.
Further disruptions were expected on SH88 this morning.
Traffic was likely to be reduced to one lane as towing
operators removed the crashed truck, Snr Sgt Benn said.
Another minor crash in Upper Junction Rd at 6.45pm disrupted
traffic on the detour for about an hour, after a truck slid
off the road into a ditch.
In another fatal accident yesterday, an elderly man died
after a car he was in left the road and ended upside down in
a stream in rural Southland. The crash happened about 4.45pm
on the Mataura Island-Fortrose Rd, south of Edendale.
- nigel.benson@odt.co.nz
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