Funeral hearse hit by slip on State Highway 2, driver survives close call

The driver of an Evans Funeral Services hearse had a close call on Monday morning when a slip came down on the vehicle on SH2 in the Whareratas. A tree branch (inset) went through the windscreen and injured his arm. The heavy rain had washed most of the debris off the hearse by the time he got back to the city, but it needed a visit to the panelbeaters. Pictures supplied

A staff member from Evans Funeral Services had a lucky escape early on Monday morning when the hearse he was driving was hit by a slip on State Highway 2 in the Whareratas.

The man was heading to Waikato Hospital via Taupo to pick up a deceased person when the slip came down at around 5am that morning.

“It came down right on top of the vehicle, and a tree branch came through the windscreen, narrowly missing the driver,” said company owner David Parker.

“He suffered an arm injury as a result.”

He was able to back the hearse out of the slip and return to Gisborne for treatment for his injured arm, Mr Parker said.

The vehicle has since been taken to the panelbeaters for extensive repairs.

“The driver’s recovering at home and is thankfully making good progress.

“He was very lucky not to have been more seriously hurt.

“We’re sharing this incident with the public just to show how dangerous it is out there at the moment on the roads,” Mr Parker said.

Evans Funeral Services are reassessing the time of day they carry out transfers of the deceased in and out of the region, on behalf of the Coroner and Te Whatu Ora Tairawhiti.