Motorcyclist dies after hitting car and power pole

Police believe the rider of this motorbike overshot a bend on Point View Drive, Dannemora, before hitting a car and then this power pole. Photo / Dean Purcell

A motorcyclist died after he overshot a bend and crashed into the windscreen of an oncoming car before hitting a power pole in Dannemora, eastern Auckland, yesterday afternoon.

Police say the motorcyclist, believed to be in his late 30s to early 40s, was heading towards the Whitford Rd end of Point View Drive about 2pm.

"He's obviously misjudged the corner," said Constable Amy Weston of the Manukau-based serious crash unit.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. The male driver of the car, its only occupant, was uninjured.

Garry Hamlin, who lives on the fatal bend, said the road was so dangerous that he always walked to the corner to check it was safe first whenever his wife and children left home.

"It's such a dangerous road. Cars just come flying around that bend and the trouble is they lose control."

Mr Hamlin said collisions were common on the Whitford Rd end of Point View Drive as motorists misjudged its camber and width.

Not long ago, there were seven crashes in three months on the first 200m section of the road, he said.

But in the 38 years he had lived there, Mr Hamlin said yesterday's crash was the first one to claim a life. "Normally they're lucky and they can walk away."

Earlier in the day, another motorcyclist was seriously injured when he crashed into a car towing a boat at Kawakawa Bay.

The Westpac helicopter flew him to Middlemore Hospital. Last night, he was in a stable condition.