Highway not to blame for spate of fatal crashes

By JO-MARIE BROWN

A horrific spate of road accidents in the Western Bay of Plenty has killed eight people in eight days, nearly eclipsing the district's entire road toll for last year.

Despite the disastrous statistics, police say they have no safety concerns about the stretch of road where six people died in two accidents on Saturday night.

Senior Sergeant Colin Gyde, head of the area's strategic traffic unit, said the section of State Highway 2 near Te Puke where the accidents happened was not regarded as a black spot.

"Police are satisfied there is no urgent, immediate need in terms of change to that section of highway.

"Those crashes were not a matter that has resulted from poor roading design or poor roading conditions," he said.

The weekend deaths follow numerous crashes in the region the previous weekend in which two died and 13 were injured.

"That's given us a road toll of eight in eight days," Mr Gyde said.

Last year, a total of nine people died in road accidents in the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty area - the lowest toll since records began in the 1950s.

"Clearly that's been blown right out of the water already as we've had 11 so far this year," Mr Gyde said.

Police had worked very hard to reduce the numbers of road deaths and the past week had been extremely disappointing.

Four family members from Maketu died instantly when their car and a work truck collided. The truck had just finished clearing the scene of an earlier accident where two men had been killed.

Lance Clarke, 40, his sister Roselle, 38, her partner Barry Strongman, 30, and their niece Deborah, 15, were on their way home from Auckland after a family celebration when the accident occurred.

A tangi for three of the victims was being held at a marae in Morrinsville. They will be buried tomorrow. The body of Barry Strongman, 30, has been taken home to his family in Northland.

Victor James Grey, 37, of Tauranga, and James Waenga, 41, of Kawerau, died in the earlier crash.

Herald Feature: Cutting the road toll