Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Six dead within 41 hours: The second worst weekend for road deaths this year

By Meghan Lawrence
Meghan Lawrence is a reporter for the New Zealand Herald·NZ Herald·
20 May, 2018 07:26 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

This year's road toll so far is nearly on a par with the same period in 2017.

Six people lost their lives following crashes around the country this weekend, making it the second highest weekend road toll this year.

A 15-year-old cyclist was killed following a collision with a car on the Oteha Valley Rd north-bound off ramp in Albany, Auckland, at 11pm on Friday night.

Tragically, the teenager died at the scene, and the driver of the car left the area without stopping.

The driver of the car, a 19-year-old woman, later came forward to police and was charged with dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop.

She is due to appear in North Shore District Court on Thursday, May 24.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This incident was followed a few hours later by two fatal crashes in Canterbury and Wellington.

Nine people were injured in a two-car crash on Tahuna Rd in Hoe-O-Tainui at 3.47pm yesterday. Photo / Philips Search & Rescue Trust
Nine people were injured in a two-car crash on Tahuna Rd in Hoe-O-Tainui at 3.47pm yesterday. Photo / Philips Search & Rescue Trust

Just before 3am on Saturday morning another teenager was killed following a serious crash in Wellington.

The deceased, 15-year-old Bailey Patmore from Cannons Creek, was a passenger in a stolen vehicle when it fled from police.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wellington District Commander superintendent Sam Hoyle said the vehicle failed to stop for police on State Highway 1, near The Terrace Tunnel, at 2.44am.

A dog handler driving north on SH1 saw the small hatchback travelling at high speed and established it had been reported stolen from Petone the night before.

A pursuit was initiated, and the vehicle continued north on the motorway before crashing south of the Tawa interchange.

It was at this point the officer, who was alone, learnt there were six people in the vehicle – five seated in the vehicle and one in the boot.

Discover more

New Zealand

Kaimai highway reopened after fatal crash

20 May 03:52 AM

The person in the boot died at the scene.

The five others — four teenagers and one 21-year-old, all from Porirua — suffered minor injuries and were checked at Wellington Hospital emergency department before being released.

Minutes later, a 24-year-old male died following a crash in Ashburton.

Emergency services were called to the single-vehicle crash on Wakanui Rd at 3am.

The driver of the vehicle died at the scene and three others suffered serious to moderate injuries.

The devastation on New Zealand roads did not stop there, with the next life being claimed a mere 12 hours later, when another 24-year-old male was killed in a crash on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Emergency services attended the two-vehicle crash on Kopu-Hikuai Rd, at 3.16pm

From one vehicle, the passenger died and the driver was injured. From the other vehicle, both the driver and the passenger were injured. All injuries ranged from serious to moderate.

Sunday bore no relief to the road toll, with two motorcyclists killed, one in Waihau Bay and one on the Kaimai Ranges.

A 58-year-old male died following a crash involving a motorbike and a car on State Highway 29 in the Kaimais at 3.36pm.

A 54-year-old female was killed in a crash at Waihau Bay in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

A police spokesman said they were called at 2.25pm to a collision involving a motorbike and a light van on State Highway 35.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A helicopter was dispatched but the woman died at the scene.

The six deaths brought this year's road toll to 154, which is 13 more than the same time last year.

A number of investigations will now commence, involving the Serious Crash Unit and the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Two crashes in the Waikato also resulted in a number of serious injuries.

Nine people were injured in a two-car crash on Tahuna Rd in Hoe-O-Tainui at 3.47pm yesterday.

Two people were seriously injured, four people had moderate injuries and three had minor injuries.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Two other people were also seriously injured after a vehicle and train collided on Princess St in Ngaruawahia at 10.10pm last night.

The two people were taken to Waikato Hospital. One was discharged this morning, while the other was in a stable condition.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

18 Jun 06:07 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

18 Jun 06:07 PM

The aspiring new owners say they have 30 years' experience in hospitality.

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Police warn gangs after major drug operation

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM
'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP