Te Mata Peak Trust will consider coroner's report

PENDING REPORT: The Hawke's Bay community is awaiting the coroner's report on the death of a local man who died after falling down a cliff on Te Mata Peak on Tuesday. Photo/Duncan Brown.

As the shock and grief of the news that a local mountain biker died after falling from Te Mata Peak washed over the community, many began to ask themselves how such a tragedy could have happened.

John Warren, husband of Iona College principal Shannon Warren, was mountain biking on Te Mata Peak on Tuesday night when he skidded off a track and down a 15m cliff.

The Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter winched Mr Warren out of the area and flew him to Hawke's Bay Hospital, however he died as a result of his injuries and the matter was referred to the coroner.

Te Mata Peak Trustee Michael Bate said the Ttrust would not take any action, in the form of an internal review or investigation, until the coroner's report had been released.

"We will wait for the coroner's inquest findings before we decide what action to take," he said.

"They are the best entity to make the findings."

The trust, made up of seven voluntary board members, is responsible for park administration of Te Mata Peak, Mr Bate said.

"We're responsible for the administration of the parks and consistent with that we arrange for work to be done on tracks...that's just part of the business of running the park."

Recent administration of the park saw new mountain biking tracks built by Southstar Trails in a joint project between the Hawkes' Bay Regional Council and the Hastings District Council.

Mr Bate said the new mountain bike tracks were "expertly" built last year.

"Part of the reason for developing purpose-built mountain bike tracks has been to make walking and mountain biking safer by separating walkers and mountain bikers. There are signs and barriers installed to achieve that," Mr Bate said.

Mr Warren fell from an area that had both a walking track and a mountain biking track.

Mr Bate had stated he did not think the track was a factor in the incident, however he made clear that it was still unknown what track Mr Warren had been biking on.

"With these variables it becomes difficult to make any helpful comments and my view is that it's [only] appropriate to comment on factors to an accident if we know where, and to some extent how, the accident has occurred," he said.

Prominent local business owner Rod Drury, who donated a digger that had been used to build some of the new mountain bike tracks, said the mountain biking community was awaiting further information about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

"We were surprised to hear that someone had died. We don't know what happened and our thoughts go out to the family," he said.

"It's really rocked the community."