A man has died in Rotorua Hospital after being injured in a road accident on Saturday.
James Farrelly, 36, of Whakatane, suffered serious head injuries after the bread-delivery truck in which he was riding went off the road and crashed into a tree in Kawerau. He died early this morning.
Mr Farrelly
was flown to hospital by helicopter, while the driver of the vehicle was flown to Whakatane Hospital by another helicopter with a broken leg and chest injuries.
The pair were driving from Huntly to Edgecumbe on a bread run.
Despite the death, the country seems headed for a low November toll.
So far this month seven people have died in road accidents, against 25 at the same time last year and 18 in 1999.
The road toll for the year stood at 372 today, 24 fewer than at the same time in 2000.
Land Transport Safety Authority spokesman Andy Knackstedt told NZPA today that if current trends continued, the year's end tally would be well below last year's 462.
The road toll for the first year of the new millennium was itself down 46 on 1999 and the lowest since 428 were killed in 1964.
- NZPA
