Truckie's evasive action saved passenger's life

Hugh Ferguson spent most of his life transporting goods around the country - he was on his way to a job the morning of the accident. Photo / Supplied

The man who was killed in a head-on collision between two trucks took evasive action to save the life of his passenger.

Hugh Leonard Ferguson died when a disqualified driver crossed the centreline and crashed into him on State Highway 26, near Hamilton, on Saturday.

Mr Ferguson's family are now mourning their husband, father and grandfather.

"He loved everything about trucks and built a life around working with them," said his daughter, Jo Clarke. "He spent his life on the road driving trucks, big trucks - truck-and-trailer units - he just loved them."

Mr Ferguson, 61, spent most of his life driving across the country delivering everything from metal to frozen foods.

Driving was his passion, Ms Clarke said.

"He was an extremely hard worker - just happy all the time, laughing. He was a really good man."

Mr Ferguson, a father of three and grandfather of five, was on his way to a job the morning of the accident - it was a small consolation for his family and friends that he died doing something he enjoyed so much.

He would be remembered as a hero, Ms Clarke said, because in the last minutes of his life he took action to save another's.

"He saw the other truck coming and he turned to try and avoid it and by turning he saved the life of his passenger. So Dad took the brunt of the accident and Dad's passenger walked out of that."

The 18-year-old man who was Mr Ferguson's passenger worked for his company, Shaw Asphalters, and suffered a broken leg in the accident.

"If Dad didn't swerve and try and miss [the other truck] then it would have been a different story."

But that was her father, Ms Clarke said, always checking whether everyone was alright.

Jarrad Malcolm Townsend, 32, of Tauranga, was driving the truck that crossed the centreline and ploughed into Mr Ferguson's. Mr Townsend was a disqualified driver and police are analysing a suspicious substance found in his cab and are investigating whether he was on his cellphone when the collision occurred.

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said they were still awaiting the results of the drugs tests and Mr Townsend's phone records and would pass their findings to the coroner.

Ms Clarke didn't want to say anything about what might have caused the crash.

"I guess his family will be going through the same thing we are.

"I mean it's disappointing, but we don't know the exact facts and it's not going to bring Dad back. We're just trying to concentrate on grieving rather than worrying about the other driver."

Her family was still in shock about Mr Ferguson's "unbelievable" death and they were all trying to deal with it in their own way, she said.

"[On Sunday] I just cried all day and now it's kind of another day but it still doesn't feel real ... we're all just the same really.

"I've got a brother who's just absolutely shattered by losing his father - his father taught him everything."

His grandchildren, aged between 4 and 8, were trying to understand what had happened to their "adored" Pops, she said.

Mr Ferguson's body was returned to their family yesterday.

"It's just so good having him home."

There wasn't a person who met him who didn't like Mr Ferguson, his daughter said.

"He had that way about him. As soon as you met him he wanted to know everything about you and talk to you about everything.

"And because he's been in the trucking industry for so long he was well known and lots of people have been sending messages - everyone's just devastated."

A service for Mr Ferguson is to be held in Newstead on Thursday afternoon.