Rider death lifts road toll to six

A motorcyclist has died just off State Highway 1 north of Bulls this morning, taking the holiday road toll to six.

Police received a call from ambulance staff at 7.20am informing them of the crash, which occurred on a straight stretch of road, 2km north of the Manawatu town of Bulls, police central communications Acting Shift Inspector Guy Callahan said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, he said.

The registered owner of the Triumph motorcycle is a male; however, the gender of the rider had yet to be determined, he said.

Meanwhile, other fatalities which added to the holiday road toll included a person who died after a bus and car collided in Hamilton yesterday.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of Ulster St and Forest Lake Rd in Beerescourt at 4.42pm.

They confirmed one person died in the collision, while another was taken to Waikato Hospital.

A 4-year-old girl who died when the car her mother was driving left the road and flipped on Sunday was named by police yesterday.

Kahui Matauwhati was pronounced dead at the scene when the family's Isuzu Bighorn 4WD crashed near Taumarunui in the central North Island.

Sergeant Paul Dowie said the mother and father, believed to be in their early 40s, were conscious as they were treated at the scene.

"They have crossed the centre line, hit a culvert on the other side of the road and the vehicle has rolled a couple of times." he said.

Alcohol and speed did not appear to be factors, he said.

Both parents were taken to Taumarunui Hospital and have since been released.

An 11-month-old girl died on Saturday when the van her mother was driving left the road on the Kapiti Coast, flipping up to six times before landing on its roof.

The woman, in her early 30s, was flown to Wellington hospital in a serious condition.

The baby's father, a passenger in the van, escaped the crash with minor injuries.

One person died and two others were injured in the head-on crash about 3.30pm between Te Anau and Mossburn in Southland on Sunday.

Car passenger Sandy Paul Waenga Brown, 21, from Paua, was the first person killed in the holiday period, in a crash near Cape Reinga about 2.30am on Christmas Day.

Six people died in the last Christmas and New Year holiday period which runs from 4pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on January 3.

- Brendan Manning of APNZ

Add a Comment