Six killed in black weekend

Police were last night still trying to establish the cause of the collision that killed a motorcyclist south of Ngaruawahia. Photo / Christine Cornege

Six people have died in accidents involving motor vehicles over the weekend, three of them motorcyclists.

Two motorcyclists were killed in separate crashes yesterday, the first at the annual Cliffhanger Hillclimb event in Carterton.

The road was closed to the public for the event in which riders take part in staggered time trials up the 6.9km hill road.

The 59-year-old rider crashed off his motorbike about 2km up Te Wharau Rd and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man is not the first to die in the event. In 2012, Malcolm Foster, 59, of Tawa, was killed when he lost control of his Ducati 999 motorcycle while cornering and hit a fence.

Yesterday afternoon another motorcyclist died in a collision with a vehicle north of Hamilton. The crash occurred on State Highway 39 just south of Ngaruawahia.

The cause of the accident was yet to be established, police said last night.

A motorist was also killed yesterday, in a head-on crash near Te Puke. Emergency services were called to the collision, on State Highway 2 about 3km north of Te Puke, shortly after 12.30pm.

On Saturday, three people were killed.

Brodie Jacob Molloy, aged 7, died after being run over in the driveway of his Southland home about 1pm. Police Sergeant Ian Temple said it appeared Brodie was struck by a reversing vehicle driven by a family member on a rural property in Wallacetown, near Invercargill. He was taken to Southland Hospital but was unable to be resuscitated.

Motorcyclist Ross Howard Blair, 45, of Te Aroha, suffered fatal injuries on Saturday when he and a truck collided at the intersection of Wardville Rd and Tower Rd near Waharoa, police said. He was riding with two other men at the time.

A 68-year-old driver died during a vintage car event at Hampton Downs.

The man was driving an 1100cc 1961 Formula Junior Cooper when he was believed to have suffered a medical event which led to a crash.

The rest of the day's racing was cancelled.

Meanwhile, a female motorist survived an 80m plunge into a creek when her car left the road in Upper Hutt yesterday afternoon. No other vehicle was involved.

Weekend crashes

Saturday:
*68-year-old driver died in a possible medical event and crash at Hampton Downs during a vintage car rally.
*Motorcyclist suffered fatal injuries in a collision with a truck near Matamata.
*7-year-old died after being hit in Southland home driveway.
Sunday:
*59-year-old motorcyclist died at the annual Cliffhanger Hillclimb event in Carterton.
*One person died after a head-on crash near Te Puke.
*Motorcyclist died in a collision with a vehicle near Ngaruawahia.