Motorcyclist didn't have a chance: witness

David Hutching died after his life support was switched off. Photo / Supplied

David Hutching died after his life support was switched off.

David Mark Hutching had been riding motorbikes for most of his life and had just bought a 992cc Ducati when tragedy struck.

The 49-year-old computer engineer had finished IT maintenance work in Hamilton and was on his way home to Auckland when he collided with a motorist pulling out from a Te Rapa business on to State Highway 1 on Monday morning.

He was taken to Waikato Hospital with critical head injuries, and remained on life support until Thursday night.

Mr Hutching was surrounded by family members when his life support system was switched off. He died shortly afterwards.

Mr Hutching is the third person to die on Waikato roads this week after the deaths of Eunice Griffiths, 82, and Vina Wills, 81, who were killed in a head-on collision while travelling on the wrong side of the Waikato Expressway near the Ohinewai Interchange on Monday.

Mr Hutching's wife, Isobel, told the Weekend Herald her husband had been in Hamilton maintaining IT systems at a McDonald's restaurant that was being shifted.

The father of three children aged 24, 22 and 19 braked and tried to swerve to the left to avoid the vehicle but clipped its front and slammed into it.

The car driver was unhurt.

A witness saw the accident from a cherry picker parked in a driveway where he was working.

He said Mr Hutching appeared to be driving at the 100km/h speed limit but did not have a chance to avoid the car that pulled out on to the road about 20m to 30m in front of him.

Mr Hutching's parents and other family members were yesterday gathered at his Ramarama home, south of Auckland.

Mrs Hutching said he was a "good and fair person" who was popular and had been riding motorcycles and quad bikes all his life, sometimes for charity events.

"I don't think there was anyone who didn't like him," she said.

"He was just a really nice person. It's a tragic waste, it really is."

Waikato district road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said it was too early to say whether the motorist involved could be facing charges.

He said the Waikato road toll was already 38 this year - compared with 34 at the same time last year.

"Of concern for us is that this is the third death on Waikato roads this week from two crashes that occurred in what could be described as perfect driving conditions," said Mr Tooman.

"We're all conscious of the large number of overseas visitors here to enjoy the World Cup and there is a lot of emphasis on ensuring they keep left.

"But both incidents this week involved local motorists and it's important all drivers drive to survive."

Mrs Hutching said two ceremonies could be held in her husband's memory, one in Auckland and the other in Kerikeri, where he lived his parents as a teenager.