KEY POINTS:
Police have identified the two men who died on one of New Zealand's most dangerous stretches of road.
Rajesh Kumar, 35, and Sameer Chaudhary, 22, both originally from India but living in south Auckland, died when the car Mr Kumar was driving crossed the centre line and was crushed by a truck on State Highway 2 at Maramarua near the Hauraki Plains yesterday afternoon.
The two men's next-of-kin were all in India and had been notified, police said today.
Sergeant Gilbert Williams of Waikato's Highway Patrol police unit said it looked like the northbound car had tried to avoid debris or some kind of obstruction on the notorious stretch of road.
He said the car then crossed to the incorrect side of the road into the path of a southbound truck and trailer unit.
Markings at the crash site, about 2km east of Maramarua, showed the car had gone into a skid and turned sharply to its right. The impact happened on the left side of the car towards the rear, with the truck shunting the car back at least 40m.
The mangled car was stuck beneath the cab of the truck with both vehicles coming to rest in a shallow ditch on the roadside.
The two dead men were extracted by the fire service with the aid of cutting equipment nearly four hours later.
"The truck driver is very shaken up, very distressed," Mr Williams said.
Witness accounts confirmed debris had flown up in the air just before the crash.
Although the stretch of road is straight it has double yellow lines on it and is part of a rolling undulating stretch about 1km long.
A maintenance worker said he was used to attending fatalities on SH2 around Maramarua.
"Drivers' attitudes are shocking, when its raining they're still doing 100 and when it's foggy they're still doing 100.
"No matter how much they spend on campaigns the message just won't get through."
Transit's Waikato regional manager, Chris Allen, said the accident happened outside the two stretches of SH2 the company is improving.
He said the accident was a "tragedy" and Transit would be working with police to find the cause of the crash.
"We are always looking to see what improvements can be made, especially if there are any road conditions that could have contributed in some minor way."
More than 40 people have been killed on the 35km stretch of SH2 between the Bombay Hills and the Thames turnoff over the past six years.
- with NZPA
