Car crossed centre line near Te Awamutu crash that left five dead, police say

• Police say a vehicle crossed the centre line in yesterday’s fatal crash.
• Five people died in the crash on State Highway 3 near Te Awamutiu, involving two cars.
• A motorist who drove past the scene described the car as ‘mangled’.

A Waikato crash in which five people died yesterday involved one vehicle crossing the centre line, police say.

Inspector Jeff Penno has provided an update at Hamilton’s road-policing base following the crash.

Two cars collided head-on and three occupants of one vehicle and two occupants of a second vehicle died at the scene.

“We do not understand why it happened,” Penno told media.

Police would be looking at whether either driver was impaired.

“While we always look at the environment, early indications are that roading factors on this particular piece of road are not at fault. Impairment is always something we look at, to ensure all drivers are sober, not just alcohol but illegal and legal drugs and that is certainly a focus of this accident.”

He said the Serious Crash Unit conducted a “meticulous scene examination last night”.

“And the findings from that examination and forensic evidence obtained will feed into a crash investigation, which is likely to take several months.

“We are now moving on to the next stage, which includes examining the vehicles involved to tell us more about what occurred.”

The scene was not in a state for investigators to know whether those in the vehicles were wearing seatbelts, Penno said.

A police road block on State Highway 3 at Te Awa after a fatal crash closed the road. Photo / Mike Scott

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said yesterday that the Serious Crash Unit was conducting its scene investigation.

Both vehicles were “older” but it hadn’t been determined whether that contributed to the crash.

All family members of those who died have been advised of the incident. Police were well down the path of identifying the victims but were not in a position to release details, Penno said.

He said he was “not prepared” to say whether those who died were locals, or where they were from.

“While the crash investigation is ongoing, police are limited in what we can say about the circumstances of the crash, and that will be for the Coroner to determine in due course.”

Penno noted that section of road isn’t known for being dangerous.

“We are infamous for our road trauma.

“Every fatality on our roads nationally is gut-wrenching for police.”

He said it was particularly hard on the young emergency personnel who attended the crash scene and wanted to acknowledge those who responded, including members of the public who were first on the scene.

“For emergency services, there is no such thing as a nice fatality scene.

“We do our role to save lives.

Police inspector Jeff Penno has provided an update at Hamilton’s road- policing base following the crash where five people died.

“When it goes wrong, we do take it personally, but equally that gives us the motivation and passion to do what we do.

“This was a very confronting scene, even for our experienced emergency services staff. Responding to these types of incidents is something that never gets easier, no matter how long you’ve been in the job.

“But this of course does not compare to the hurt and pain that the families and friends of these victims are now dealing with.”

He had a message for motorists ahead of the long weekend.

“If you speed in the Waikato you will get a speeding ticket and this is why.”

Penno said he would not describe the scene out of respect for those who have died.

“Those side barriers have exponentially more benefits than risks ... the side barriers were not at play in this fatality.”

Penno said it was not for police to comment on whether centre barriers were needed.

“Centre barriers do save lives, they are also incredibly hard to retrofit.”

‘It was mangled’ - witness

Meanwhile, a man, who did not wish to be named, has told how he drove past the crash while medics were arriving.

He described the scene as “very bad”.

“I could see two cars were involved, it looked like the van had rolled. It was mangled.

“People had gathered around the car, I think there were two people inside.”

He originally thought it must have been the remnants of an older accident.

It wasn’t until he got home that he found out five people had lost their lives in the crash.

“It’s really sad news.”

State Highway 3 has reopened after the crash between Jary Road and Ngaroto Rd.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi issued an alert at 6.15am saying the road had reopened at about midnight.

The section of SH3 where the accident happened remained under traffic management as scene clean-up was completed this morning.

The crash was reported to police at about 4.44pm yesterday.

Penno said police were also making sure that support was provided to those who need it.

“Emergency services are still working through the scene, just making sure we collect all the evidence to understand what has happened in this horrific crash.

“This is a high-volume road and at that time of day it is quite busy, but we understand the conditions to be dry and the weather was fine albeit getting slowly darker. Obviously, we will look at all causes and anything that contributed to this horrendous crash.”

The accident happened just four days after James Parlane, 61, died after his Land Rover collided with a truck on the same road.

This morning Parlane’s sister, Angela Parlane, thanked the public for their kind comments about her “big brother”.

“I’m also so sorry to see another very devastating accident on SH3 yesterday and thinking of those poor people and their whānau,” Angela Parlane said.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. She began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021, as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.