Crash mystery as road toll rockets

By Naomi Larkin

The weekend road toll stood at 11 late last night, including six killed in a horrific crash on the Napier-Taupo road that left three others critically injured.

The deaths brought the number of people who have died on the roads this year to 27, compared with 12 for the same time last year.

The head-on crash on the Napier-Taupo road between two cars, one towing a boat, happened about 8 pm on Friday on a winding stretch 2km east of Rangitaiki, 36km southeast of Taupo.

The dead were Anthony Ivan Jackson, 36, from Hastings; his 7-year-old daughter, Jahnna Alsye Jackson; two nephews, Joshua James Watt, 13, and Cory Dylan Watt, 10, of Clive, south of Napier; Kendrick Arundel Lambert, 63, of Tuai, south of Waikaremoana, and his 28-year-old son of the identical name, also of Tuai.

The father of the Watt boys, Mr Jackson's wife, Michelle, and a grandmother were travelling in another vehicle just behind the car that crashed.

Helicopters took the three survivors to Hawkes Bay Hospital in Hastings where they were operated on throughout the night. A hospital spokeswoman said last night that all three were still in a critical condition.
The road was closed for about four hours after the collision.

Constable Peter Souter, of Taupo police traffic safety, investigated the crash site yesterday and said it would be some time before the cause of the tragedy would be established.

Police efforts were hampered by the absence of witnesses and the lack of clear markings on the road, he said.
"The whole thing is a huge jigsaw puzzle and not all the pieces appear to be there."

A St John Ambulance Taupo paramedic, Pat Wynne, who flew to the crash site with the Tranz Rail rescue helicopter, said yesterday that it looked like the aftermath of a bomb explosion.

"The victims were lying on the road, some half in cars; petrol was all over the road, water from the fire engines and flashing lights. It was quite horrific."

Mr Wynne, who has been an ambulance paramedic for 27 years, said this was one of the worst accidents he had attended. It appeared that some of the victims had not been wearing seatbelts.

"I have one thing to say: Wear your seatbelts. Seatbelts save lives."

Five other people died in separate accidents around the country this weekend.

Naden Jones, 28, of Whakatane died when the car he was in left the road at Patumahoe, near Pukekohe, around 4.15 am yesterday. There were six people in the vehicle.
The five others were taken by helicopter to Middlemore Hospital.

Hayden Buckley, 22, of Kaitaia was killed when the vehicle he was driving went off the road about 10km south of Kaitaia just before 7 am. No one else was in the car.

Andrew Sibbald, 73, of Alexandra, died after a two-car head-on collision at 7.15 pm on Saturday on State Highway 6 at Ripponvale, 5km west of Cromwell.

Twenty minutes earlier, two cars crashed at State Highway 85 at Oturehua, 25km northwest of Ranfurly, leaving Jane Cameron, 42, of Arrowtown, dead at the scene.

Lucinda Milne, 14, died in Tauranga Hospital on Saturday after falling off a car during a joyride.