The crash occurred on Canning Rd, near Hawke's Bay Hospital. Photo / NZME
The crash occurred on Canning Rd, near Hawke's Bay Hospital. Photo / NZME
Police are investigating after a motorbike with two people on it crashed and hit a pedestrian on a footpath near Hawke’s Bay Hospital, leaving three people seriously injured.
Emergency services were at the scene of the serious crash that blocked Canning Rd, Camberley, in Hastings on Thursday afternoon.
A policespokesman said about 2pm, a motorcycle carrying two riders crashed between Hapia St and Orchard Rd.
Road policing manager Inspector Angela Hallett said the bike skidded along the ground and hit a nurse outside a cafe, causing her moderate injuries.
“One of the two on the bike received critical injuries, while the second received serious injuries. Police have established the rider was a 14-year-old, carrying a 17-year-old passenger.”
Hallett said police were still investigating but initial indications suggest the bike was one of two speeding along Canning Rd.
“[It] may have been attempting to undertake a turning vehicle when the crash happened,” she said.
A nurse was hit by a motorcycle on Canning Rd, between Hapia St and Orchard Rd, near Hawke's Bay Hospital.
“Both bikes are believed to have been the subject of complaints a short time earlier, though were not being pursued at the time of the crash.”
Hallett commended the swift actions of medical staff who rushed to help the injured people.
“Officers at the scene were forced to form a barrier between the first responders and a number of people who arrived on scene and became abusive at the people who were trying to help,” she said.
Police also arrested one man for breaching bail after he drove a car on to the footpath at the crash scene.
“The investigation into the crash is in its early stages and no charges have yet been laid,” Hallett said.
“We are speaking to several people and will be making follow-up inquiries over the coming days.”
Witness Nidar Maobun, who works at the nearby Angkor Wat Kiwi Bakery & Cafe, told RNZ she saw a woman get hit at “fast speed”.
“I saw two motorbikes going really fast. One of our customers was about to leave our doors and she just got hit in the leg, and went straight to the ground,” she told RNZ.
“I was scared and shocked. I went to her and asked if she was okay, and she stayed on the ground.”
The entrance to the hospital’s emergency department is on Canning Rd.
