Tree accident 'a freak of nature' say police

The family of two cousins killed when gale-force winds uprooted a tree on to their car near Hastings say the women will be much missed.

Dale Frances Jowsey, 55, a farmer, of Kereru, west of Hastings, and her Hawera cousin Madeline Lucy Stanley, 75, were killed when winds toppled the tree onto the windscreen of their car near Bridge Pa, on the outskirts of Hastings, on Monday afternoon.

Mrs Stanley was killed instantly and Mrs Jowsey died a short time later in Hawkes Bay Hospital after an accident police described as a freak event.

Mrs Jowsey's brother, Warren Whyte, said the family were coming to terms with the accident.

"I can remember all the fun times. She was so outgoing," said Mr Whyte yesterday.

"She was a shopaholic. I was thinking last night that if the IRD are investigating New Zealand's wealthiest 100 people, they could have included Dale and John. He had it, she spent it," he recalled with a laugh.

Mrs Jowsey is survived by her husband, John, children Jody, Carl, Glen, John-Craig and Angela and grandchildren.

"Once you knew her you had a friend for life.

"She was always there to help you, always available, always there for everyone," said Mr Whyte.

Hastings police were yesterday continuing their investigation and would treat it like any other road fatality until all the facts were known.

Sergeant Cory Ubels said the high winds had ripped the tree's entire root system from the ground and he had not noticed any rot.

"It was a really big tree and when it hit the vehicle it broke in half and the car carried on travelling at speed.

"It was a 100km/h zone and there was no reason for them to be going slower than that."

Although the accident appeared to be an "open and shut case", Mr Ubels said from a personal point of view it was very sad.

"It's just a freak of nature.

"It's extremely unlucky because a second either way and it could probably have been averted."

Elsewhere in Hawkes Bay on Monday, the wind stretched fire-fighting resources to the limit, fanning flames and lifting roofs.

Two men with their garden hoses stopped a fire from destroying their homes as another house was gutted in a blaze on Napier's Marine Parade .

The fire, reported at 4.50pm, was one of six calls to the fire service in Napier and Hastings in less than 30 minutes, and gutted an old house in central Napier.

Neighbour Bev Taylor entered the house to save a disabled woman from the flames as her husband, Laurie, got the garden hose to save their own home.

The woman helped from the house was taken to hospital by ambulance and was later discharged.

On the opposite side of the blazing house, a man stood in his bedroom with a garden hose trying to save his own home.

A fire crew already at a shed fire about 3km away in suburban Maraenui, raced to the scene. With four other calls in the region almost simultaneously, the crew was alone at the fire for some time before back-up arrived.

It took more than an hour to bring the situation under control.

Crews remained until after 10pm, fearing the winds, gusting up to 140km/h, would reignite the fire.

In central Hawkes Bay, the Onga Onga and Tikokino volunteer fire brigades battled successfully on Monday night to stop a grass fire reaching a house and other buildings.

Onga Onga fire chief Mike Adams said his crew had just returned from helping to secure a roof when they were called to the grass fire.

Fire services from Napier to Takapau all attended incidents where roofs were being lifted. Napier fire chief Paul Baxter said the gale-force winds had pushed the fire danger rating up to high.

In Marlborough, high winds blew down a tree, grazing a car and causing power cuts for hundreds of Blenheim residents.

The 50-year-old gum tree on Blenheim's Wither Rd took a power pole with it, causing a power outage to hundreds of residents in the surrounding area on Monday afternoon.

One motorist had a lucky escape when the 30m tall tree grazed the rear of their vehicle.

RNZAF Base Woodbourne recorded a gust of 86km/h, the highest in Marlborough for the day.

South of Nelson, a refrigerated trailer on a light truck flipped about 5.45pm after being caught by the wind on State Highway 1.

 

In Kaikoura, wind was thought responsible for a power cut affecting around 5000 people.

- NZPA