Staff in shock after Hawke's Bay Regional Council worker dies in rural accident

COMMUNITY MOURNS: The Hawke's Bay Regional Council community is mourning after a staff member died in a workplace accident in Ashley Clinton last Friday night. PHOTO/FILE

The death of a Hawke's Bay Regional Council staff member in a workplace accident on Friday night has left the council's community reeling in shock.

HBRC senior resource technician Michael Francis Taylor, 44, was killed on a rural farm in Ashley Clinton after a vehicle he was travelling in left a farm track and rolled.

Council staff gathered yesterday morning to discuss the accident in what was a "solemn" meeting, HBRC chairman Rex Graham said.

HBRC chief executive Andrew Newman said support services had been extended to council staff, particularly those who were working alongside Mr Taylor in the hydrology team.

"The regional council team is a very close-knit team of staff. We have quite a family atmosphere and it's really important that, in the sheer grief of Michael's death, we're able to deal with it in a family-like way," Mr Newman said.

Mr Graham said the loss of a colleague under such circumstances was distressing for the council team who worked so closely with one another.

"He was our staff member so his family is our family. We'll be doing everything we can to get [the family] back on their feet."

Both Mr Graham and Mr Newman had paid their personal condolences to the family.

WorkSafe New Zealand, which was notified of the accident by police on Friday night, were making preliminary inquiries into the death.

The vehicle is yet to be recovered from the scene of the accident due to poor weather conditions, but Mr Taylor's body was recovered on Friday night.

In a funeral notice issued today Mr Taylor's family paid tribute to him as their dearly loved husband, father, stepfather, son, brother, son-in-law and brother-in-law.

They asked that in lieu of flowers donations could be made to the New Zealand Forest and Bird Society.

A funeral was to be held to "celebrate" Mr Taylor's life at the Crestwood Chapel in Hastings this Friday followed by a private cremation.