Waiuku residents call for more speed cameras after three killed in crash

Three people died in a crash near Waiuku yesterday afternoon after a car left the road and ended up upside down in water. Photo / Mike Scott

By Natalie Akoorie

A resident of a notorious road known as “the rollercoaster” has told of the moment he came across a car upside down in water next to his driveway.

Three people died yesterday when the car they were in left Masters Rd, near Waiuku, and came to rest in a creek.

Billy McLean was in his workshop on Masters Rd when he heard an impact that sounded like a car going off the road.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard it. It’s not the first time it’s happened here.

“I knew what it was straight away and just ran straight down there to find the car upside down in the ditch, unfortunately.”

‘I tried my best’

McLean, a conservation arborist, said the ditch was a deep culvert in a dip at the bottom of a hill with wetlands on either side.

“I tried my best to get them out and there was absolutely no way that that car was going to open.

“There’s not much anyone could have done.

“Being pinned upside down in mud that was so deep. It was like, a little bit of the bottom of the door and the chassis and the wheels exposed and the rest of the whole vehicle in mud.

“There’s not a hundred gorillas that could have torn the doors off that car ... I tried. I tried my best but I’m not a hundred gorillas either.”

McLean raced back up his driveway to call 111.

He said police were on the scene within minutes and also tried and failed to get into the SUV.

McLean said the chassis on the SUV was bent and he believed the car hit the culvert at his driveway and became airborne.

Second fatal in two years

The 80km/h road is an alternative route to Pukekohe and the crash happened at 3.30pm between Waiuku and Kidd Rds.

McLean said it had been raining but had stopped by the time he heard the impact.

He said it was the second time in as many years there had been a fatal crash on the road, the first one killing his best mate of 40 years and father-of-six, Daniel Dalgety, in August 2023.

McLean said the car Dalgety was a passenger in hit a tree and he was first on the scene to discover his friend’s death.

Since then, he had been scared for his own family’s safety when using the road.

“Honestly I fear that, every time I pull out of this driveway with my family now.”

‘Do something’

He said he was considering selling his home and he wanted action from road authorities.

“Do something. Do something ... If they could start focusing those speed cameras on actual known death-trap sites, instead of some random corner or at the bottom of a pretty safe downhill where they’re just getting as much revenue as they can.

“Could they please put those cameras where it would save people’s lives instead of just collecting their tax.

“That would be a great start. This place here would be a good start.”

He described the area where Tuesday’s crash happened as being akin to an “old-school BMX jump”.

“It’s been known for years out here as ‘the rollercoaster road’.”

Neighbour and resident on the road for four decades, Jonathan Kuttner, also referred to Masters Rd as a death-trap and said he had been to a dozen crashes since the road was straightened many years ago.

Kuttner, a former GP, said there was a dangerous dip and bend in the road where speeding cars could fly off and land in a bog.

He said he had raised concerns with various authorities over the years and was also calling for a speed camera on the road.

Kuttner said drivers often used the road to speed and he had been privy to many serious crashes and a number of close calls near his home.

It was so dangerous he would only turn left out of his driveway, he said.

Everyone affected

Franklin ward councillor Andy Baker said he was aware the “well-used back road” could be dangerous but said it fell within the Waikato boundary.

He said Waiuku, a rural town of about 6000 people, would be heavily affected by the tragedy.

“Everyone knows everyone. The whole town will just be reeling, no matter who it is. There’ll be so many different parts of the community affected by it. It’s a terrible thing.”

It was unclear if the victims were from Waiuku, but it was believed they were members of the same family.

Shortly after 6pm yesterday, police said next-of-kin had been notified.

“We acknowledge that this is tragic news for the tight-knit community in Waiuku.”

The serious crash unit was investigating.

- RNZ