Accident victim wanted to make visit across lake

Richard Hyde, who was killed by a reversing bus in Queenstown. Photo supplied.
Richard Hyde, who was killed by a reversing bus in Queenstown. Photo supplied.
The man who died at Mt Nicholas Station near Queenstown last week once stood for election against United States politician Ted Kennedy, and had specifically wanted to visit the side of Lake Wakatipu where he lost his life.

Richard Philip Hyde (73), of Massachusetts, was injured in the car park at Mt Nicholas Station on April 15, after a bus reversed into him.

He was taken to Queenstown Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Mr Hyde's friend Dianne Cox, of Ottawa, Canada, said Mr Hyde was born in Canada and gained a master's degree in linguistics from the University of Toronto.

He had travelled from his home in Somerville, Massachussetts, at the end of March for a month-long trip to New Zealand, where his wife Kate was to present a paper at a conference.

"I only heard about his death in a brief email from her this morning, from an airport as she was en route to Somerville, cutting her trip short, of course,'' Ms Cox said.

"It is cruelly ironic that he died in the area around Mt Nicholas.

"He had specifically wanted to visit that side of the lake and had been looking at maps online before he left to figure out how he might get there.''

Ms Cox said she was not surprised to read he was taking photos of the area at the time the bus backed over him.

She said Mr Hyde was "an energetic, good-humoured guy with a great ear for accents and foreign languages''.

He was also keenly interested in politics and the economic state of the world, and advocated for an adjustable work week to correspond with the work available.

"He was convinced that the economy would be far better off if better technology led to reduced hours rather than jobs.''

Mr Hyde ran against Ted Kennedy in the United States Senate election in Massachusetts in 2000, gaining 8444 votes.

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement