Napier police want to speak to motorists who hit railway signal

The railway crossing on Taradale Rd before the crash. Photo / Google Maps

Police want to speak to the occupants of a vehicle that smashed into a railway crossing pole in Napier, who then took off in another vehicle.

About 5.45pm on Wednesday, a vehicle struck a railway crossing pole holding a barrier near the Gull service station on Taradale Rd in Marewa.

“The incident did not cause any delays to [train] services and the pole, which sustained minor damage, has now been repaired,” a KiwiRail spokesman said.

No trains were involved in the incident.

The occupants of the vehicle were picked up by another vehicle and left the scene in a white Toyota ute.

Police want to speak to the occupants of the vehicle involved in the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage from Taradale Rd at that time is also asked to contact police.

Information can be provided by calling 105 and quoting reference number P059717580.

Motorbike rider injured

Earlier in the day, another part of Napier’s busy peak-hour road system was closed to traffic for more than half an hour after a motorbike incident in which one person was reported to have been moderately injured.

Police said emergency services were notified of the incident about 3.35pm on Wednesday, which led to police closing the section of Hyderabad Rd, part of State Highway 51, between the traffic-lights intersection with Georges Drive and a roundabout at the intersection with Taradale Rd.

They said it was initially unclear whether the motorbike had crashed, or the person had fallen off or suffered a medical event.