Tragic start to 2022

TRAGEDY AT WAERENGA-A-HIKA: 2022 started tragically on Tairāwhiti roads with the death of a woman on Sunday afternoon at Waerenga-a-Hika. The ute she was driving left State Highway 2 at the Bushmere Arms corner and struck a power pole. Picture by Roger Handford

Serious vehicle crashes marred the New Year weekend in Tairāwhiti with a woman losing her life in one incident and four people ending up in hospital in two other crashes.

Police have not yet released the name of the woman killed in the crash on State Highway 2 at Waerenga-a-Hika at around 4.30pm on Sunday.

The woman was one of 17 people who died over the country's official summer holiday road toll period which ended at 6am today. The toll was six more than last year and the highest since the 2016/2017 period.

The vehicle, a twin-cab ute in which she was the sole occupant, went out of control at the bend on SH2 by the Bushmere Arms, clipped the roadside barrier, then struck a high-tension power pole before coming to rest in a ditch.

“The vehicle had been heading north on the highway when it happened,” a senior firefighter who attended said.

“The woman, who was the sole occupant, was thrown from the ute.”

Emergency service crews tried to resuscitate her but she could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Powerlines came down alongside the vehicle.

The highway was shut at the crash site for several hours as police began a serious crash inquiry, which continues on behalf of the coroner.

Police were still in the process of advising all next of kin this morning and her name was not yet officially released.

Police said she was from the local area.

They have extended their condolences to the woman's family.

Traffic was detoured around the scene while they completed their scene examination and the crash site was cleared.

Two serious vehicle crashes occurred in the district on New Year's Eve.

The first — which involved a motorcycle — happened at around 5.30pm on SH35, just south of the Waihau Bay (Loisels) turnoff.

“The male bike rider and his female pillion passenger came off the bike down the hill about two kilometres south of the turnoff,” an emergency services spokesman said.

“The man in his 50s was seriously hurt, with head, neck and possibly pelvic injuries, and the woman in her 40s had moderate injuries.”

They were transported to Gisborne Hospital by St John ambulance.

“A doctor and a trainee nurse who happened to be passing by tended to them until we arrived,” he said.

The Tolaga Bay rescue tender and first responders and St John officers stabilised the patients at the scene before they were taken to hospital.

Both were admitted to Gisborne Hospital and at last report were in stable conditions.

The second incident involved an ATV vehicle that rolled in a paddock on a property in Bushmere Road at around 6.30pm on Friday.

“Two men in their 50s on the vehicle were thrown clear when it rolled,” a senior firefighter said.

They suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Both were flown to Waikato Hospital for more specialist care on New Year's Day — one in critical condition, the other serious.

A truck driver escaped injury on Monday at around 6.30am when his rig rolled over at a spot on SH2 at Raupunga south of Wairoa.

The truck had been carrying salad goods for LeaderBrand to the South Island.

The road was closed at the crash site until around 11am.

“We don't expect the accident to disrupt our supply chain much,” a company spokesman said.

“While the load of salad goods the truck was carrying was lost, the driver was OK, which was a relief.”