Community 'devastated' at trail rider's death

A motorbike rider killed in a South Otago school's fundraising event was a "husband, father, colleague and friend" whose death has devastated organisers, the school says.

Another 11 people were injured after crashes at the Lake to Sea Trail Ride in the Milton area on Saturday.

The 18th annual Lake to Sea Trail Ride is a fundraiser for Tokomairiro High School and offers a 140km ride through a mix of forestry and farmland.

Emergency services responded after two distress beacons were activated about 12.10pm.

There were three separate crashes during the event, with police confirming today that a person died at the scene and two crashes were within 150 metres of each other.

A St John spokeswoman said 11 people had been hurt, with five hospitalised. Two were flown to Dunedin Hospital, one in a serious condition, the other moderate.

PTA chairwoman Lynne Johnston said the rider's death had devastated organisers.

"Our hearts go out to this man's family and friends as they deal with the loss of their husband, father, colleague and friend," she said.

"Our focus at this time is to support the family and those affected by this tragic accident."

Two riders that had to be airlifted due to the remoteness of the area were injured in single-bike accidents, she said.

Other injuries dealt with ranged from a broken collar bone through to a sprained wrist and cuts and grazes, she said.

"The Tokomairiro High School PTA community thank all those members of the community for their support of this event, to St John's for their tireless work, and to the rescue helicopter and police for dealing with this very sad situation."

Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan also said it was "devastating news" to hear about the crashes and their outcome.

‘‘My thoughts go out to the family and friends.’’ 

Police had to deal with a complex geography, rugged terrain and communication issues when responding to crashes at the event, a spokeswoman said.

The Serious Crash Unit attended and part of its inquiry work was to determine where the crashes happened and whether they were on-road or off-road.

The death has been referred to the Coroner and inquiries are continuing into the circumstances of the crashes, police said.

The Lake to Sea Trail Ride is a 140km motorcycle and ATV event through forestry areas and farmland between Milburn and Toko Mouth.

A ‘‘less challenging course’’ of about 80km had also been available for less experienced riders and courses would be marshalled at junctions and road crossings, a pre-event notice said.

A reporter at the scene said 870 participants set off on ATVs and trail bikes from Milburn at 9.30am yesterday. The riders took three separate trails, one for advanced riders, one for open riders and one for junior riders.

After two hours the trails met at Chrystalls Beach, where there was lunch, then riders travelled the length of the beach and returned to Milburn via the loop trails.

The reporter said the conditions were warm and windy for the most part.  It was wet underfoot in the forest and the trails there were slippery and muddy, he said.

Before he left the event at 2pm - the last riders came in after 3pm - he had only heard of one incident, in which a person received deep lacerations to the leg, at a place called Westerns Beach.

There was no indication anything else untoward had happened, he said.

"Everyone was telling me they had a great day."

- additional reporting NZ Herald 

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