No helmets worn in Hawke’s Bay bikers’ crash, police say

The scene at a June 4 Auckland dirt bikes crash, which led to the death of one man. Photo / NZME

Two dirt bike riders injured in a crash in Flaxmere on Friday night were not wearing safety helmets, police say.

The riders were involved in a collision with a car in the area of Caernarvon Dr and Tenby Tce just after 7pm.

Both were taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital with serious injuries.

By Monday afternoon, one had been discharged. The other, aged in their 20s, remained in hospital in a stable condition.

The road through the area was closed to traffic for more than two hours during the emergency and as police began an investigation into the circumstances.

Senior Sergeant Chris Vining, of Hawke’s Bay Police, said neither of the riders was wearing a safety helmet, and a Serious Crash Unit investigation, including “factors relating to the crash”, was taking place, including an examination of both vehicles on Monday.

Meanwhile, in Auckland, a dirt biker rider critically injured in a June 4 intersection crash in the Clover Park area, between Manukau and Papatoetoe, has died.

Two days earlier, police in Auckland had announced a crackdown on dangerous dirt-bike riding on motorways and city and suburban streets, which was followed by five arrests and the seizing of five bikes and another vehicle in a King’s Birthday weekend operation mainly in the Manukau area. During the weekend in the area there had been a collision involving two riders not wearing helmets.