Woman dies after Napier crash

CRASH: A woman is in critical condition after an accident on Prebensen Dr in Napier this morning. PHOTO PAUL TAYLOR

A woman who was critically injured in a crash on a major Napier ring-road this morning has died.

Senior Sergeant David Sutherland said the woman had died earlier this evening as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

The crash happened about 8.15am on Prebensen Drive, between the entrances to Tamatea and Taradale.

Senior Sergeant Dan Foley, of police Eastern District command centre, said the crash happened when a car with a male driver clipped a barrier on one side of the road and deflected across the lanes into the path of a car carrying two women, understood to be workmates, one American and the other from the Netherlands.

The road, a busy thoroughfare for peak-hour workers traffic, was closed for about two hours, during which the Fire Service had to cut apart the women's vehicle in a drain beside the road to extract the most seriously-injured occupant.

Detours were put in place as the police Serious Crash Unit investigated the scene.

The woman was rushed to hospital in Hastings by the St John Ambulance Service, as were her workmate and the man from the vehicle which had crossed the road.

The woman's death is the eighth this year on roads in the Hawke's Bay Today circulation area (Wairoa, Napier, Hastings, CHB, Tararua), which compares with eight at the same date last year.