Martinborough locals ‘horrifically sad’ after fatal bike crash

By RNZ

People in Martinborough say there is deep sadness in the community in the aftermath of a fatal crash between a car and a four-seater bike.

One person died at the scene and three others were seriously injured when a car collided with the hire bike they were riding on Pūruatanga Rd on Thursday.

The accident happened near the entrance of Poppies Winery. General manager Shayne Hammond said members of his staff and locals who came upon the scene had been deeply affected.

“You can’t express the sadness. Everyone’s hurting and a couple of the guys are definitely struggling. It’s just horrifically sad.”

He said he spoke to an older man at the scene who he understood to be the driver of the car.

Martinborough resident John Golter said people in the small community were in shock. He said he regularly jogged on Pūruatanga Rd, and the presence of traffic at high speeds near slower moving road users often felt dangerous.

“That road’s good, it’s got big wide verges that you can run on, but if you’re biking on the road and cars are going by at 70, 80, 100km/h then it’s a pretty dangerous situation, isn’t it?”

A tourist visiting the area said motorists were cautious about people on the roads this morning.

A spokesperson for Life Flight said helicopters from Wellington and Palmerston North were called to the scene just after 10.45am. Photo / RNZ, Hamish Cardwell

“We are going to hire bikes today, but as I’ve been walking around and crossing the roads on the pedestrian crossings I’ve noticed that the cars have been very cautious and giving me a lot of leeway walking around. I think there probably is a heightened sense of awareness.”

Hammond said thousands of people enjoyed visiting the wineries around Martinborough on foot and by bike, and the speed limit on the road needed to be reduced.

“There’s a speed limit on that road which has probably been talked about for quite a long time, and personally I believe that speed limit should be reduced because the use of that road has changed in the last 10, 20 years. We can never allow [this] to happen again so we’ve got to find simple solutions to achieve that.”

A police spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing and no charges had yet been laid.

“There have been no significant crashes of note in the last year on that stretch, except for yesterday’s. No issues have been raised with or by Waka Kotahi or council in relation to this stretch of the road in the last two years,” the spokesperson said.

Local businesses have called for changes to speed limits in the area from as far back as 2018. But South Wairarapa Mayor Martin Connelly told Morning Report on Friday the road was not brought up in a review of speed limits in the area last year.

He said the council would wait on police reports into the cause of the crash before taking any action.

“It’s a very wide road. The visibility’s very clear. There’s a very wide grass verge on both sides and - until the police have made their conclusions about what actually caused the accident - I think this sort of discussion is very premature.”

Connelly said the council was open to police advice regarding improving safety measures.

- RNZ