Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua road toll reaches five just two months into the year

Cira Olivier
By Cira Olivier
Multimedia Journalist, Bay of Plenty Times·Rotorua Daily Post·
4 Mar, 2019 05:28 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

This year's road toll so far is nearly on a par with the same period in 2017.

Five people have been killed on roads in the Rotorua district in the last two months and police are urging people to "drive like you have the most precious cargo on board".

This time last year, there had been just one fatal crash in the Rotorua district. By the end of 2018 that number was 11.

In the wider Bay of Plenty there have been 14 roading deaths this year and Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe urged people to follow road safety basics to avoid the extreme heartache.

"It's difficult to comprehend that 14 families have had to endure the heartbreak of losing a family member due to a vehicle crash on Bay of Plenty roads this year.

"Drive like you have the most precious cargo on board, because it's your life you're risking, along with anybody else in your car or sharing the road with you.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The bottom line is we are all working towards keeping people safe on our roads so that we don't have to attend another fatal crash and families don't have to plan another funeral."

Sunday marked the most recent of the roading tragedies when a car collided with two motorcyclists on State Highway 30 near Hell's Gate.

A woman riding a motorcycle was killed in a crash and another was taken to Rotorua Hospital with serious injuries where she is recovering.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Crowe said it was too soon to say how the crash happened but the police's Serious Crash Unit would do a thorough investigation.

He has urged any witnesses to contact police on (07) 348 0099.

The horrific year on the district's roads started on January 6 when 60-year-old local man Ronald Gladding was killed in a crash on the straight stretch of Broadlands Rd, 300m north of the intersection with East Rd, near Reporoa.

Emergency services, including rescue helicopters, responded to the crash.

Discover more

New Zealand

Broadlands fatal crash victim named

13 Jan 11:33 PM

Improvements on deadly road near Rotorua to start soon

18 Jan 07:00 PM

Mistakes on road carry social cost

22 Jan 05:00 PM

Hamurana Rd to close while police examine scene of fatal crash

31 Jan 03:40 AM

Then on January 29 a 57-year-old man died on SH36 between Gloucester Rd and Tauranga Direct Rd, Ngongotahā after the motorcycle he was riding crashed with a tractor

He died at the scene and his name has not been formally released.

Emergency services at the scene of the fatal crash Jaurary 6, on Broadlands Rd between Rotorua and Taupo. Photo / Ben Fraser
Emergency services at the scene of the fatal crash Jaurary 6, on Broadlands Rd between Rotorua and Taupo. Photo / Ben Fraser

Following the crash Hamurana Ratepayers' Association chairman Jerry Douglas urged a speed reduction, which he said had made a big difference on another stretch in the area.

Days later on February 3, Herewini Gavigan, 24, died after he crashed the motorcycle he was riding on SH38 near Murupara.

The motorcycle had disappeared from the scene by the time police arrived and a month on it is still missing.

Acting Senior Sergeant Joe Cairns had said, at the time of the crash, this was "a tragedy that has happened to this young man, and police are trying to establish the events that led up to his death".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A police media spokeswoman said their inquiry into the crash was ongoing but they were still looking for the motorbike.

"Police are continuing to investigate and are following a number of strong leads."

No one had come forward with information on the vital piece of evidence.

The scene of a crash where a motorcyclist died and his bike was missing near Murupara, February 3. Photo / Stephen Parker
The scene of a crash where a motorcyclist died and his bike was missing near Murupara, February 3. Photo / Stephen Parker

On February 18 Lisa Amy Taylor, 35, died in Reporoa after her car crashed in a ditch on Birch Rd near Massey Rd at 8.30pm.

Two ambulances were sent to the scene, and Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Denis Murphy said the car the woman was driving lost control.

Tyre marks were seen on Massey Rd where a woman crashed and died on February 18. Daily Post Photo / Stephen Parker
Tyre marks were seen on Massey Rd where a woman crashed and died on February 18. Daily Post Photo / Stephen Parker

The 2019 victims
January 6, Ronald Gladding, 60, Broadlands Rd, Reporoa
January 29, name not released, 57, SH36 between Gloucester Road and Tauranga Direct Road, Ngongotaha
February 3, Herewini Gavigan, 24, State Highway 38, Murupara
February 18, Lisa Amy Taylor, 25, Birch Rd, Reporoa
March 4, victim name still to be released, State Highway 30, Tikitere

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rotorua road deaths
2012 - 4
2013 - 8
2014 - 4
2015 - 5
2016 - 8
2017 - 4
2018 - 11

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Rotorua Daily Post

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

04 Jul 01:08 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

Peter was trapped under a tractor for hours on his Mangakino farm.

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

04 Jul 01:08 AM
'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

04 Jul 12:24 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP